Modified Chapters
by Aneera
Summary: A collection of various chapters from what I've written so far that I felt needed to be re-written to better suit the story, though I wanted to keep the originals so readers could see my writing evolve and better appreciate my hard work.
1. Opening Statement

Well this isn't really a story, its a collection of certain chapters that I didn't really like and I thought could be written better.

This will be updated but not very often as I am still working on VfL, but I wont be like someone who forgets, I'll just be like someone who is slow. But I assure you I will update this as often as I can.

It was also brought to my attetion that the first few chapers of BR was very Mary Sueish, I completely agree, I hate them. So because I want this person to read them I must rewrite them, but it will make me feel better as well.

I also wanted to redo these because I want them to be written to the best of my ability, making them, overall, better pieces of literature.

I thank you all who read and review, it warns my heart to know that people acutally like and appreciate my hard work.

-Aneera-


	2. Blue Roses: Chapter One

Zim lay in his bed, his chest softly rising and falling in a slow rhythm. He hadn't actually slept in days, though he found it to be relaxing and his body seemed to be at its best when he took a short nap every once in a while.

Gir silently opened the door to Zim's bedroom, peering to check on his Master. He snuck in and watched his Master sleep, poking him forcefully in the cheek. "Master..." he whispered. "Massteerrr... HEY! Wake up Master!"

Zim jerked upright and flailed his arms, his eyes wide open and his breathing heavy. "GIR! How dare you wake your Master!"

"The sun says wake up!" Gir smiled stupidly and skipped happily out of the room, leaving Zim to scowl at the wall instead.

"Stupid robot." Zim sighed and slid out of the bed, quickly slipping on his uniform. He stepped into his boots and shoved his hands into his gloves, running them along his antennae to straighten out the kinks.

He went down the stairs two at a time, having added two bedrooms and a landing to make his house more 'normal'. Once he reached the bottom Zim made a sharp right and entered the kitchen where Gir was waiting for him.

"Guess who made waffles! Hehe, ME!" The little robot giggled and handed Zim a waffle, who snatched it away and shoved it into his mouth. "Have fun with Big Head Boy!"

Zim raised a brow at the little monstrosity. "Gir, for the millionth time, I'm not going to that filthy Skool today. I have more important matters to tend to." He then stepped into the toilet bowl and flushed himself into his labs.

The platform descended to the lower levels of his labs where the temperature was cooler and Zim was more comfortable.

When the lift stopped Zim stepped out and walked into the room. It was a little small, cozy he liked to call it. There was a large monitor on the wall and a small platform in front of that.

Zim quickly stepped out of the lift and onto the platform, making himself presentable for his Tallest. As he stood the screen in front of him flickered to life and two very tall Irkens, clad in red and purple uniforms, were looking down at him.

"Zim," Red started. "I'm sure you remember what today is." He sighed and blinked.

Zim shifted his weight to his right foot and clasped his hands behind his back. "I do, My Tallset, but..."

Purple looked skeptically at Zim. "But what?"

For a moment Zim stood and thought, he wasn't sure how to say what he wanted to say without angering his leaders but still getting his point across. "Don't you think that... Tak would be better suited for this job?" He mentally smacked himself, he just made it sound like she was a better invader than he was! Idiot.

"Are you actually putting some thought into something for once?" Red scoffed and waved a hand. "Tak was blown off Earth a while ago, you did it yourself, remember?"

Zim nodded his head in agreement and sighed to himself, sometimes he wondered why he even agreed to this job. "Yes, My Tallest."

"So!" Purple smiled. "You go get her today, keep her for a week, teach her about our society and then we'll take over, okay?"

As much as Zim disliked the idea he nodded once more and saluted, cutting the transmission. To him the idea of just coming off with everything right then and there would be too overwhelming. But they were right in saying that they just didn't have the time for letting her ease into it.

But that was hardly Zim's decision so he just went along with it, keeping his opinions to himself. It wasn't that he particularly cared for the girl, he didn't even know her, but he thought that she deserved the same amount of respect as anybody else, considering who she was after all.

Zim let out one last sigh and re-entered the lift, thinking to himself about how he was going to go about doing this. He didn't want to scare her but he had to tell her, he'd promised the Tallest.

After a moment or two the lift stopped and let Zim off at the Voot Cruiser Repair Bay. He looked around and started forward, folding his hands behind his back. "Computer, status report."

"**Cruiser Repair Status: 84%**" The computer sounded rather bored, more so than usual.

Zim's eyes narrowed, the progress of the repair wasn't going quite the way he wanted it to. "How much longer until it's done!?"

If the computer could have flinched it would have. "**Umm... twenty-four hours?**"

The antennae on top of Zim's head began to twitch with frustration. "You don't know do you?"

"**Uhh... not really.**" it said slowly, fearful of being unplugged again.

"Can't you go any faster!? I'm not paying you to lay around all day!" Zim huffed and went to check the repairs himself.

There was a pause before the computer realised what his Master had said. "**But... you don't pay me at all...**"

Zim ignored him and picked up a few of his tools, since he didn't have anything better to do he might as well help speed things up a bit.

* * *

The rain outside was pouring down hard and the coastal wind coming from the bay wasn't making things better.

Aneera ran down the sidewalk, she hated being caught in these thunderstorms. Her feet splashed in puddles as she passed house after house, rounding the street corner.

Unfortunately it was one of those days where both parents were still as work and the clouds decided to go ahead and let loose the rain they'd been saving.

So naturally Aneera was caught in the rain with no umbrella, thanks to the new guy on the weather channel who promised a sunny afternoon with light showers later in the evening.

She finally reached her front door, cursing the fact that they had to live next to the ocean where all the rain smelled like rotten fish. Unlocking the door quickly became difficult as her right hand was dripping wet making the simple task of holding the key very tricky, let alone maneuvering it into the lock. Plus her matted brown hair was not helping in the slightest bit as it clung to her face and obscured her view.

"Oh come on! I'd like to go in, _if_ you don't mind!" After a few more seconds of failed attempts she said, "Did you have to mind today? Of all days!"

Seventeen failed attempts later Aneera was finally inside, dripping wet and extremely ticked off. "When I'm eighteen I'm so moving out of Florida."

* * *

Zim pulled himself out from under his Voot and grunted. "Well that should do it. All that's left is the navigational system... but I can fix that later." He pushed himself off the floor and brushed the flecks of dirt off his uniform. "Computer!"

"**What is it?**" the voice asked, obviously unhappy.

"Status Report!" Zim barked, hoping that the percentage had gone up.

"**... 97%**" he said, hoping to the great computer gods it would be enough for his Master.

Zim stood in thought for a moment, he hadn't fixed the navigational system yet so that might give him an extra percent or two, just because that was an important section in the Voot's computer database anyways. After a moment or so he decided that the Voot was in good enough condition to fly, so he went back up to the house level to retrieve Gir.

As he rode up in the lift Zim couldn't help but wonder why the Tallest chose him for this assignment. Of course he was already there on Earth, but his plans almost never went the way he wanted them too (not like he'd admit it) so why him? This was such an important mission, why not choose someone higher ranking than him? It didn't make sense, but it wasn't like he was complaining, he was honored to have been given the task, he was just a little suspicious.

The lift stopped at the house level and Zim stepped out, quickly spotting the robot on the sofa. He walked over to his minion and siezed him by the antennae. "Come Gir, we're going out!"

The little robot giggled and stuck out his tongue. "Yay! Are we going to the moon!?"

Zim sighed heavily and glared at the air particles floating in front of his face. "No Gir, we're not going to the moon." The robot whined in response. "We're going to pick someone up."

Gir was let go and he dropped onto the floor with a metallic clanking sound and giggled again. "Is it Big Head Boy?"

Zim visibly shuddered and stuck his tongue out in disgust. "No, I would never let that... filth bag into my base."

The two quickly entered the lift and rode it to the hanger, where the Voot was awaiting their arrival. As the lift came to a halt Zim couldn't help but smile proudly to himself, he really did love that ship.

"Weeee!" Gir leaped onto the platform and catapulted himself into the back of the ship, squealing like a little girl. Once inside he took a rubber piggie out of his head and began to entertain himeslf while Zim climbed into the front seat.

The ship started up and the roof of the base opened, letting a clear view of the night sky present itself. The stars were dim due to the amount of light polution and the moon was nowhere to be seen.

Zim piloted the ship up and out of the house and took off towards a random direction, pulling up the computer's map and pinpointing his destination.

* * *

Aneera huffed and tugged harder, trying to get as much water out of her hair as possible with the only clean towel in the house, a dish towel. Seeing as she couldn't get her hair any dryer she hung the towel back up and sighed, her day had not gone well.

Homework was at it's minimal and a quick shower left her with five hours to herself, since her parents wouldn't be home until late that night she was pretty much on her own.

The majority of the night was spent skipping between channels on TV which consisted of Snack Network, Lifetime Real Hobos, and if both of those were reduced to infomercials selling useless junk then she would bore herself to death with the Navy Channel.

As the sky got darker and ten rolled around Aneera started to doze off, being trapped between sleep and reality. She vaguely remembered drooling over a well marangued pie on TV when a loud whirring sound filled her ears.

She turned her head to look outside and saw the blur of some sort of pink blob land in her backyard. It never registered to her that an event such as that was _not_ normal.

Shortly after the fuzzy pink thing invaded her weeded yard something small and blue shot out of the pink thing, squealing like a little girl. Then a slightly larger green and red fuzzy blob ran out after it, yelling words in gibberish.

To Aneera, the whole thing was surreal, so she wasn't concerned at all that these strange manifestations might have been dangerous at all, they were actually kind of amusing.

Aneera stood up and slowly stumbled over to her sliding glass door, the porch and a screen door was the only thing separating her from the odd fuzzy blobs. While yawning she opened the door and stepped onto the porch, hoping that whatever the blobs were would at least come in to focus.

The small blue thing had stopped running around and was sitting quietly in the grass, entertaining itself with something that was so blurred and distorted to Aneera it was almost unidentifiable, she had to squint to see that it was a stick.

Meanwhile the green and red fuzzy thing was making its way over to the screen door, but upon arival it saw that it was entirely too short to open the door.

Aneera felt bad for whatever this thing was and thought that she was obligated to assist it, so she did. Lazily reaching out a hand, she pulled down the handle and the door swung open, leaving nothing between her and whatever was standing in front of her.

It looked up at her, its big red eyes blinking every so often. "Aneera?"

Aneera looked behind her assuming it was addressing someone else, then she realized it said her name and not someone else's. "Um, yes?"

"You just let people into your house?" It asked, as if it was indirectly calling her stupid.

It took her a minute to catch the tone in its voice. "And you just land your giant fuzzy blob in random people's yards?" She could see that one red eye got smaller, obviously it was confused. "That thing in my back yard! Its a giant fuzzy blob!"

The green thing turned around for a second, then looked back at Aneera. "That's my ship!"

"What are you, an alien or something?" She laughed a little to herself before she got what she just said. "Wait, are you an alien?"

"Yes." it replied. "Now follow me." The green blob turned around and headed out towards the "ship" as it had been called earlier.

Without much of a response Aneera quietly followed, needing help to get into the pink blob as her vision was bad and she was falling all over herself from her drowsiness. Once she was situated in the back she passed out and fell asleep, feeling the gentle rock as the ship rose into the air.

* * *

Aneera: Okay, so this is the modified chapter of Blue Roses: Chapter One... or whatever I called it.

Zim: I'm a blob!?

Aneera: No... you're a FUZZY blob.

Zim:.... That makes it even MORE insulting!

Aneera: You're welcome!


	3. Blue Roses: Chapter Two

Aneera stirred and woke with a start, jumping at the sound of what should have seemed a distant crash but somehow felt much louder and more distinctive. She sat up and listened closely, feeling something long and stalky twitch on the top of her head. She reached a hand up and touched where she felt the odd movement, brushing her fingers along smooth skin instead of her thick hair. Suddenly her hand found the source of the strange sensation, by running her fingers along its length she discovered something was off.

There was another loud sound from somewhere else, the same strange twitch was felt as he noticed it was the long stalk on the top of her head. It wasn't until then when she realized where she was.

She was laying on what was like an extremely oversized pillow, floating in the middle of a small room. There was a camera in one of the corners and a monitor on the wall to her right with a door straight ahead.

Aneera gently slid off the pillow, or attempted to, not realizing her height difference. She clung to the edge as her feet dangled about a foot or so off the floor. As she let go her feet hit the floor with a gentle tap.

"**Um, good morning.**" said a loud disembodied voice.

"Ah! Who was that!" She turned around in a circle and saw no one, growing confused.

"**It was just me... The computer.**" The voice stated, almost embarrassed.

Aneera stood straightened and looked up, tilting her head to one side. "Are you in the ceiling?"

There was a pause. "**Well... I'm just in the base. I... guess the ceiling counts...**" It seemed as though it was talking more to itself than to Aneera.

She shifted her eyes around and decided to dismiss it. "So... What exactly is going on?"

"**Oh! Um, Master would like to see you upstairs... in the house level.**"

For a second Aneera tried to make sense of that, but failed almost instantly. "What? Where am I? And WHAT are these things coming out of my head!"

Once again the computer paused before saying anything. "**Uh... Those are your antennae, you know... for hearing and smelling and stuff...**" He relayed this quite slowly.

Aneera stood motionless, her eyes growing wide. "But... What's going on!"

"**Didn't he tell you last night?**" asked the voice.

"No, I guess I didn't get that part!" She yelled at the ceiling, not really knowing where to yell so it was the most effective.

The computer didn't speak again for about a minute. "**He wants to see you... You should probably go before he starts to yell...**"

Paying no attention to the last half of the computer's statement, Aneera walked out of the automatic door and walked forward, as that was the only direction she go. The computer guided her through the labyrinth of halls and doors, quickly getting her to the lift.

"**Okay, hold on.**"

Aneera looked around and found that, of course, there was nothing to steady herself with. So when the lift began to rise she fell backwards onto her hands and butt. Deciding that sitting was the best way to travel, she sat and waited until the lift stopped.

The computer spoke then. "**He's in the living room.**"

It wasn't difficult to find, Aneear could hear the noise from down the hall. She walked slowly down the hall and emerged in the kitchen, which was empty.

She then looked to her left and saw, sitting on the couch, a small green alien. He was concentrating on something inside of a small robot's head.

"Gir, sometimes I wonder if you really are an evil minion. I know the Tallest said you were advanced... but you don't act like it." He finished what he was doing and closed the head, setting the small droid on the floor where it suddenly came to life.

He smiled and giggled loudly, happening to spot Aneera standing in the kitchen. "Oh no! Tak!" He then proceeded to walk into the kitchen and sit at the table, eating the waffles that had been sitting there.

"Oh good, you've woken from your stupid human custom of sleeping." The creature made to advance on her.

Aneera took a step back and looked at him strangely, his sentence structure was very peculiar. "Uh... Me?"

It looked annoyed and sighed. "Yes you. Perhaps you're not as smart as the Tallest predicted you would be."

"Hey!" she protested. "I'm smart! Who are you to tell me I'm not smart?"

"Zim." it said authoritatively.

She paused for a moment. "Who?" she asked again.

Zim sighed and restated his name, this time a little louder with much more pride and ego in it, as if he was shouting it so all the world could hear.

"Okay!" Aneera rubbed her sensitive antennae, cringing. "So why am I here? I mean, I know this is obviously a dream and there's probably no point in asking this, but why?"

"Eh?" Zim narrowed one eye and stared at her. "A dream? You think this is all a pathetic Earth dream?"

Aneera took a minute to consider his words. "Um, yeah. I look like an alien and I know I'm not so this is dream… right?"

Zim shook his head at the girl's ignorance. "Foolish Irken smeet. Of course this is not a puny little dream, I was sent by the Tallest themselves to retrieve you!"

"Wait," Aneera held up a finger. "What did you just call me?"

"A smeet."

"Is that an insult!"

"No." Zim huffed and rolled his eyes. "Come with me, I shall prove to you that your little 'dream' is quite real." He led her back to the lift and commanded the computer to take him to the lower levels of the base.

Aneera looked around in amazement, pressing her face against the transparent glass tube. "Wow! This is so cool!"

Zim stepped out as the lift stopped and motioned for the girl to follow him, leading her towards a monitor mounted on the left wall.

"Now," Zim started. "Look at the monitor in amazement and you will... be amazed!"

Aneera shook her head and folded her arms, turning her attention to the large computer on the wall. It was a video from last night according to the date and time down at the bottom of the screen.

The video showed Aneera, in human form, sleepily climbing into the back of Zim's ship which was sitting in her backyard. Once she climbed in the angle switched to inside of the small ship, showing her laying down on the small bench at the back of the cruiser.

Zim picked up a remote and fast forwarded the tape so that they could skip the ride to the base. When he resumed the video it showed the cruiser landing inside of the base.

On screen Zim had picked up Aneera and as he walked through the base the camera feed changed from room to room until he arrived at where Aneera would sleep. He opened the door and gently laid her down on the large pillow that was gently rocking in the air. Once she was still he removed a small pendant from around her neck and her body began to flicker like a hologram. Her entire form shifted and the video feed went to static.

Zim then turned back to Aneera and looked at her. "See? Zim did not lie."

Aneera stood still, her hands shaking and her breathes coming in quick and short. Her mind was blank but it seemed as though it wouldn't slow down enough for her to grasp what she just saw. "I... I..." She stuttered, beginning to hyperventilate.

Zim's eyes widened and he looked around, not understanding why Aneera was acting the way she was. "Um, Mistress?" He went to put a hand on her shoulder when she turned and hissed at him.

"What have you done to me! Change me back and take me home!" She held her hands up and assumed a fighting position.

"You dare challenge me! I should-!" Zim stopped himself, realizing he wasn't talking to just another Irken anymore. He stepped back and relaxed. "It would be wise not to toy with me, female. Just because you are more powerful than me doesnt mean you'll win. I suggest you lower your fists and let me explain."

Aneera shifted her eyes and lowered her hands, scowling at the other. "Fine."

Smiling, Zim put a hand on her shoulder and led her towards the lift. "You shouldn't feel too upset, you are part of a very powerful and amazing race! Be proud."

"Uh huh." Aneera stood next to Zim as they rode the lift up to a different level. "So where is this explanation of yours?"

Zim held his hand behind his head and let the mechanical arm extend from his PAK and give him a small computer tablet.

"OH MY GOD! WHAT IS THAT!" Aneera pressed herself against the wall of the lift opposite Zim. "Did that just come out of your back!" Her eyes started to twitch and shift around the small space.

"Yes... It's called a PAK. It's standard for all smeets. All except natural born smeets but those are illegal anyway, so no Irken is without a PAK. You have one too you know." Zim pointed a finger at her, looking at her blankly.

Aneera stiffened and turned her head to see for herself, and as she soon as she laid eyes on it she freaked. "Aaahhh! Get it off of me!" She grabbed Zim by the front of his uniform and began shaking him.

Zim grabbed her wrists and demanded that she stop. "It doesn't come off! If it's removed you'll deactivate and die!" When she stopped his face was only a half inch away from hers, making him very uncomfortable. "You're too close."

"Oh... sorry." She let go of him and blushed, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. She stepped away from him and looked down, hoping he hadn't noticed her face.

Zim dismissed the incident and began messing with the little tablet in his hands. "Here." He handed it to Aneera and pointed to some of the things on the screen. "That scrolls and this switches between files and pages. Don't touch that and you can click on pictures to make them bigger."

Aneera swatted his hand away. "I get it. Not that hard." She looked down and saw 'IRKEN EMPIRE' in giant letters, but after that everything was written in some odd foreign language. She sighed and pushed buttons until it changed to English that she could read. "Yay! I'm smart." She began reading the passage, becoming entranced.

The lift stopped at the house level and Zim led Aneera out into the living room where she sat on the couch to continue reading. Gir squealed from the kitchen, making the two Irkens flinch with annoyance.

Zim sat on the couch next to Aneera and waited for her to be finished, looking around the room. Every once in a while he would look over her shoulder to see where she was in her reading.

By the time Aneera had finished reading everything Zim was just about passed out on the couch next to her. "Okay, I'm done." She poked Zim on the side of his face until he sat up and looked around startled.

"Huh?" He turned to look at Aneera, both eyes wide open with anticipation.

Aneera sighed and handed him the tablet, getting up from the couch to find something else to do while she mulled over the strange information. It all seemed surreal to her, to be part of some alien race who's sole purpose is to take over the universe.

Zim put the tablet away and headed down into the labs to work on experiments and finish up some research that would probably prove to be useless to him in the future. He rode the lift down to the lower levels of the base, making the temperature more suitable for his experiments.

* * *

Aneera made her way back down to where she had woken up earlier that morning, wanting nothing more than to be alone. She walked down the hallway quickly, clenching and unclenching her fists with anxiety. When she saw the door and rushed towards it she hardly gave it enough time to open before literally falling inside.

The roomed was white, which was so very painful to her eyes. The fact that the room was also very empty and quiet was not helping her feeling of aloneness. But she was thankful for the lavender pillow that was floating in the air, it certainly was a sight for very sore eyes.

She climbed onto the pillow, having that kind of difficulty that most humans would 'aww' at should she had been some sort of small adorable creature. Once she was fully laying on the plush ball the tears began to come.

Her insides felt different and something in the back of her mind was trying very desperately to make the tears stop falling, as if the behavior was wrong. Ignoring it was easy enough at first, having to realize and cope with the fact that her life just took a change for she didn't know what yet.

Minutes turned to hours, which was hardly noticeable. She couldn't see the sun outside and therefore had no sense of time, making it seem that a single moment would drag on forever, eternally caught in one second. But the tears had long ceased, the feeling finally convincing her that for some reason, unknown to her, crying was wrong.

As Aneera sat up the room felt cold and dark, even though the white still burned her eyes with an invisible bright light. She closed them, hoping the dull throb would subside, at least for a little while.

Her feet delicately brushed the floor as she slid off her pillow and continued to do so until she came to the door. It wasn't exactly white, more of a chrome, but it still reflected the rest of the room and for that she hated it.

"Why is this room white? It hurts." She immediately found that talking increased the pain in her head.

The door opened and she walked down the halls, aimlessly as one might describe it. She vaguely had a reason for leaving the room, but her brain was so out of sorts she had already forgotten what it was. Though she figured it would return to her, so walked on she did.

Most of the halls were red, which, like white, was also becoming an eyesore. She briefly cursed Zim's horrid color choice, knowing that saying it to his face wouldn't at all help her situation. But the more she thought about it, the more she really didn't think that her predicament could get any worse.

The computer eventually decided to guide her to Zim, thinking that would help for whatever reason. Aneera couldn't really not listen, no matter how boring its voice was.

It didn't take but five minutes before she came to the door that concealled the lab where Zim was working.

It wasn't red or chrome, it was made of glass, but the finish of it prohibited her from seeing anything but blobs of color inside. She waited while the computer inputted the security code since she couldn't do it herself, she didn't know what it was.

Once the door opened she took one step inside and yelled at the top of her lungs. "Zim! I hate the color of your walls! VERY MUCH!" and with that she proceeded inside. Finding the little monster was no hard task, he was yelling back at her the whole time.

"Do not yell at Zim! Wretched female!" was pretty much the extent of the meaning of everything he said, he just said it about five times in five different ways, including in his native tongue, which still didn't sound very nice even though you really couldn't tell.

Just as Aneera reached him he whipped himself around and pointed a claw in her face, scrunching up his face in anger. He didn't say anything, only glared. But the way he glared was enough to make Aneera almost wish she hadn't have yelled at him first, _almost_.

She pushed aside his finger and watched it with anticipation, like he was going to jab it in her face again. "Don't put your finger in my face."

Zim snorted and turned back to what he was doing. "Just because you are of higher status than me doesn't mean that you don't have to follow my rules, female."

_Again with the 'you're better than me but you still have to listen to me' thing... Why am I better than him?_ "Why am I better than you?"

"Because, you are the personal guard of the Tallest, there isn't a much higher honor." Zim replied, only half paying attention to what he was saying, thinking that she would already know.

Aneera blinked, having to recall the passages she had read earlier. "Oh right, Tallest... leaders. Why am I their guard? I'm very small and... weak... ish."

"You haven't figured it out by now? The Tallest said you'd either remember of rediscover it soon... oh well." Zim shrugged and returned to his chemical mixing, or that's what Aneera thought it was.

"Figured what out! You aren't helping!" Aneera flailed her arms in the air, but stopped when Zim's finger returned to the space in front of her.

"Don't yell at me." he said flatly. "And as for helping you with your powers, I'm not getting paid for that, so no." He walked off with a beaker and put it in some sort of microwave looking thing, only round and more expensive looking.

Huffing, Aneera crossed her arms. "I still don't know what you're talking about!"

"I said don't yell at me!"

"I'll yell at you all I want! I'll yell until you help me! I'll yell until the cows come home!" Her fists were by her side once she had finished.

Zim looked around and momentarily paused. "But, I don't have any cows."

Aneera looked at him, the 'oh my god, you idiot' face present. "Figure of speech. Now help me!"

"DON'T YELL AT ME!" He grabbed her wrist and led her through his labs again, shortly entering a medium sized room with shelves full of weapons and other dangerous items.

Most of them weren't very big, save for the larger Irken military guns, and they consisted of both Irken and Human originated devices. One particular shelf was littered with Katanas, knives and four-pointed stars.

This was the shelf that Zim approached, carefully picking up a stack of ten stars and a small round disk with a glowing blue surface. He placed the stack over the round device and they caught in a magnetic field, keeping them from falling or otherwise.

Aneera followed him out the door and around the base in awe, hoping that she wouldn't fall victim to some horrible plan that she didn't know anything about. One half of her said she was being overly dramatic about it and the other half was screaming at her to run for her miserable life.

They came upon a large room lined with a sleek beige colored material, which Aneera was secretly very happy about. Zim stepped in and set the small round device at his feet and told Aneera to go stand in the middle of the room, poiting with his finger like he honestly didn't expect her to know where it was.

"Are you crazy?" It was then that she knew what his plan was, not fully, but she knew he was going to throw those ninja stars at her. "Nuh uh, no way. Not gonna happen."

"Do you want Zim's help or not!" He narrowed his eyes and showed he was done messing around. "Your behavior is foolish, female, now obey Zim!"

Reluctantly, she shuffled to the center of the room, fearing for her life, or what was left of it anyways.

Zim picked up a star and held it in his hand, looking at Aneera. "Hopefully you still have your reflexes so if your powers still don't surface you'll be able to at least dodge. If you don't... oh well."

Aneera's eyes widened until it hurt, she was going to die, unless he aimed for something that wasn't vital to her survival.

Zim aimed at her and flicked his wrist, letting go of the star. It whizzed through the air, spinning with such speed that it seemed to cut through the fabric of space itself.

It came at Aneera and was inches away from her face, its deadly points slowly becoming visible as the star appeared to slow down.

Aneera took one last look at it and blacked out.

* * *

Aneera: I HAVE AN EXCUSE!

Zim: No she doesn't! She was being lazy!

Aneera: Shut up! I wasn't able to post anything because I didn't have my laptop.

Zim: You broke it?

Aneera: It got a virus and I took it to Geek Squad!

Zim: You broke it.

Aneera: ... Nobody asked you, I don't need comments from the peanut gallery. Also! I now have a poll on my profile page, I need you guys to vote! You don't have to review (but I would love it if you did) but please please please please VOTE! It wont take long, promise! ^-^


	4. Blue Roses: Chapter Three

Aneera opened her eyes, seeing the beige walls blur and seem to meld together in confusion. Her stomach was upset and she thought her head was going to explode, but to her, that was the least of her problems.

A dull muffled sound filled her head, making it hurt even more. She couldn't make out what it was saying but it didn't sound too happy. As she waited it got a little clearer and it sounded a little more panicked.

She sat up and held her head in her hands, hoping the room would stop moving so fast. By now the voice was clear enough to where she could tell it was Zim and he was freaking out.

"What's the matter with you! Are you dying!" he screamed, the annoying voice becoming so irritating it was a wonder he could stand it himself.

Aneera held up a finger and waited until everything was still and quiet. "I'm not dying, but I'm in pain. Am I bleeding?" She looked down and saw a puddle of dark suspicious liquid gather at her feet. "What is that?"

"You're bleeding!" Zim shook her by the shoulders as he began to twitch, not realizing that, as usual, he was making things worse.

"Stop it!" Aneera pushed him away and moaned, holding her head again. "Please stop. It hurts." She laid back down in fetal position on the floor and began to shake as her body weakened.

Zim's hands started to shake. "But! I have to get you to the med bay! I have to fix you!" He leaned over and picked her up, gaging as the blood seeped into his uniform and oozed everywhere.

After getting passed the fact that someone else's internal fluids were touching him, Zim sped off to the elevator and took her to the med bay. As the elevator decended a few floors Zim's mind was running at a hundred miles an minute.

_She can't die! She just can't! The Tallest will KILL me for sure! I'll be hated by everyone on Irk!... I'll never see her again and it'll be all my fault... Wait, why do I care? She's a female! I don't need her! I'll be glad to get her out of my antennae._

The lift stop and Zim sprinted down the hall, being as gentle as possible with the small girl in his arms. Her eyes flitted open every few seconds, letting Zim know that she was still alive at least. He couldn't detect her "heart" beating, which wasn't a good thing since if he couldn't sense it then it wasn't processing enough blood fast enough, it was weakening.

He could see a sign at the end of the hall, 'MED BAY', the med bay. The faster he ran the farther away the room seemed, making him nearly trip on the flat surface of the floor. As he reached the doors they slid open with a deadly sounding hiss, as if to tell him there's no hope for her anymore.

"Computer! Ready the Holo-X!" Zim shouted, skidding across the floor to the large table in the center of the room.

The surface was sleek and perfectly smooth, the edges lined with bright white lights. The surface seemed to come alive as it glowed with a gentle pulsating blue light that poured from the center to the edges. This continued until the surface was equally blue all over, making Zim feel relaxed.

He gently laid her on the surface and grabbed a computer from the counter next to him. He reached a hand under the edge of the table and pushed a small button, sending a signal to his portable flat screen computer, giving him access to everything about Aneera's body.

The blue light of the table's surface began to pulse again, following the rythem of her "heart beat." The light was dim and each pulse was much too far apart from the other.

Zim switched out his gloves and slipped on skin tight white ones, drawing a thin jacket over his arms. He climbed on top of the table and looked at the star, it was embedded in her left shoulder, about two inches deep. He reached over and gently took it in his hand, and pulled.

"Aaahh!" Aneera jerked and knocked Zim off the table, bringing the star with him as he hit the floor with a smack. The light grew brighter and pulsed faster, the force and speed becoming much too strong for her fragile body.

Throwing the computer aside, Zim jumped from the floor and reached under the table, pressing three more buttons. He slid his hand under to the other side and flipped a switch.

The blue light began switcing between colors, the usual blue and a dark onyx color. Metal restraints locked around Aneera's wrists and ankles and once across her stomach. The blue slowly began to fade as the small girl screemed louder.

Zim backed away from the table, having no idea what was going on. "Computer... What is she doing?"

"**Subject is experiencing a critical chemical reaction. Her blood and brain cells are being exposed to unknown substance. Chemical has no traces of origin or atomical structure.**" The computer pulled up a diagram of the chemical reaction that was happening inside of Aneera's body.

It looked as though her cells weren't just attaching to the other chemical, they were being attacked and infused with it.

Zim looked back over his shoulder and cluctched the side of the counter. Aneera was jerking and twitching in a fit of horror and pain. Her body hadn't been through this in so long, it was rejecting the change of it's mollecular and physical structure.

Her back arched and two thick bulges began to form on her back, then they burst in a mess of blood as two large, leathery wings fanned out to her sides. The rest came quickly as her body let go.

Zim's eyes followed a small trail of blood up to the table, widening as they took in the sight before them.

Writhing in pain and discomfort was what humans would call a 'dragon'. Her tail tapered at the end and hung off the edge of the table, her feet were bent at an angle where they stretched upwards and strained the muscles, making the toes and claws fan out. The same happened to her arms and her head was thrown back in a screetch. The ivory teeth curved and pointed with perfection as the tongue curled inside her mouth. Her eyes were barely open, showing the glint of a painfully purple hued iridescent sheen.

The hiss that escaped her jaws made everything in the room rattle gently against the surfaces and each other. Her breathing slowed as her eyes opened more fully, the tail twitching like an irritated cat. She tried curling her wings to her sides, having them painfully catch the table's edge, hitting nerves and vains.

Zim chocked on his words, he could vaguely remember the Tallest mention not to stare when she changed, it made her angry and it nearly impossible for him to look away once he held a glance. Zim shook his head and pinched his eyes shut, wanting everything to go away.

Aneera's breething slowed and deepend, her breathing pushing and seperating her thick underside scales. She loosened her muscles and let her wings fall lax to the sides, physically surrendering to the change. Her eyes flicked over to Zim, who was standing pressed against the counter in shock as he tried not to stare.

"**Subject's body is now completely consumed by forigned chemical. Body functions are... normal?**" The computer did a full body x-ray and processed it, sending the information to Zim's portable computer tablet.

Zim looked down at his feet, watching as the information clutter the screen. He slowly bent over and picked it up in his shaking hands, scanning what was there. At the top where the species was listed it didn't say 'Irken' like it should have, it said 'Dracon: Spatium'. Zim turned and began typing in commands into his larger, more powerful computer. After a moment a window popped up and started scanning through the millions on species on its database.

"Hi Master! I went to the moon!" Gir came bounding into the room with the usual sickly sweet happiness. He got about halfway to Zim before even seeing Aneera, who was by now laying perfectly still on the table, save for the occasional twitch. Gir stared at the large figure, the word 'THREAT' blinking in his vision. "Aaaahhhhh!" he screamed and began running around the room, circling the table.

"GIR!" Zim reached out and tried to grab the small robot, who was much too quick for his horrible reflexes. "Gir! Be quiet!" he ordered in a desperate attempt to at least make him be less of a neusence.

Aneera shook her head at the noise, hissing in pain at the high pitched shriek that was circling around her. She jerked her body and flexed her muscles to break the bonds that were holding her down, needing to get away.

Zim leaped towards the table, reaching for the controls underneath. He slammed on the buttons, but was just a fraction of a second too late. There was a crack, like the shattering of glass on a metal surface. He looked up and saw Aneera flopping around on the table, wiggling until she fell off and cried in anger.

Gir freaked and bolted out of the room, calling that everything was going to explode. The doors closed behind him and Zim watched until his blob of a figure wasn't distinguishable anymore.

Pushing himself off the floor, Zim ducked under the edge of the table and slid towards the wall in front of him. He gently skidded to a stop and looked down, the tip of Aneera's nose at his feet, letting out shallow and short breaths of air. He leaned over and picked up her snout, looking to the side to see her eyes. They were half open and glossy, tears welling up at the corners.

It was the first time Zim could remember feeling compassion towards another living thing. He chocked on his own thoughts, knowing this feeling from... somewhere. But it seemed like the feeling didn't even belong to him, like it was someone else's entirely.

He dropped her and turned to walk away, leaving her in the room by herself. She whimpered after him but his step stayed fluid and rhythmic, matching the beat of her heart, slow and soft, barely there.

Aneera opened her eyes, feeling the rush of air force its way into her body. She gasped and flung herself upright. The room gradually stopped spinning and the throb in her head softened. As her vision cleared she saw the small robot in front of her, the one that had caused her so much pain. She glared hatefully at it and draw her fist back, but it cringed away, holding its tiny little arms up to defend itself.

"**Um... don't... don't hurt him.**" the computer said quickly in Gir's defense. He didn't particularly like the robot, but he got enough abuse from Zim already.

Gir looked up and stood, offering his hand to Aneera. Once she hesitantly took it in her hand he pulled her up and and drug her out of the room. "Master awaits you." he said, the cyan blue briefly fading to red.

Aneera followed him silently to the house level of the base, not bothering to question or argue about where they were going or why. She let the small robot hold her hand, finding some comfort in it herself, he was really the only one who had been nice to her since she'd been abducted other then the bodiless computer.

Once they came to house level and entered the room Aneera laid eyes on Zim, which started her torrent of anger all over again.

"You!" She charged at him, not noticing, or caring, that he was in the middle of a conversation with the Tallest themselves. "This is all your fault!" She pulled back her fist and smashed the right side of his face, throwing him in the direction of the front door.

"Woah!" The Irken dressed in purple looked shocked, leaning in front of his co-Tallest to try and get a better view.

Zim picked himself up and glared hard at the girl in front of him, balling his fasts and taking a fighting stance. The next few attacks that were thrown his way were easy enough for him to dodge, giving him a chance to run to open space, puting him in clear view of the Tallest. As Aneera came to strike at him again this time he took the offense, twisting her arm to the side and throwing her to the ground.

"ZIM!" the red on yelled, stopping the Irken midway through a punch. "Attention!"

Zim shoved the girl away and stood before his leaders, looking away. He knew he was in trouble, but couldn't they clearly see that she started it!

"I have half a mind to come down there right now! If we weren't finising up with a planetary conquest than I would! How could you completely disregard our warning directly in front of us!" He glared harder and straightened his posture. "You should be ashamed to call yourself a soldier." He cut the transmission and left the screen blank.

Aneera watched quietly from the floor as Zim shuffled to the couch and sat down. She didn't know he was actually capable of feeling sadness, considering how uptight and angry he was all the time.

Zim tunred his head away from her, glaring at the door as if it was the cause of all his problems. How could he be so stupid? He was better than that, he knew he was. So why did act without thinking?

Gir walked in slowly, knowing that this was not the time for games. He'd only seen his Master upset once before, so he knew it was best to keep quiet. Without making anymore noise than a soft 'clank' as he walked, Gir sat himself next to Zim and waited.

Feeling terrible for her behavior, Aneera stood and slowly made her way to the other, drooping her antennae and holding her hands together. She looked up at Zim and watched his face as he blinked. "I'm... sorry." He slowly turned his head. "I shouldn't have done that to you... are you ok?"

"I'm fine." he snapped flatly, looking away again.

Aneera felt that it still wasn't enough to make up for hitting him, so she stood on her toes and pulled him into a gentle hug.

Zim's reaction was swift and prescice, swiping her hands away and shoving her backwards. He stood on his feet and made his way to the lift, turning to watch her get up. "Never, EVER, show affection. To anyone! Especially not to me." He snapped his head to look away as he was lowered into the floor.

Shocked, Aneera stared at the empty space, wanting an explanation for the total rejectment of her attempt to make him feel better. She turned her head to Gir, hoping for a better outcome. "Can I hug you?"

Gir silently ran to her and snuggled against her small body, knowing the rejection that she felt. "I love you Pretty Lady."

"I told you he wasn't cut out for the job!" Red snapped angrily, frustrated that Zim had done such a horrible thing.

Purple floated quietly next to him, letting him go on his little tyrant. It wasn't really his place to speak, Red was the violent one after all and even though Purple was his co-ruler it didn't meant he didn't get a slice of the rage every now and then.

"How dare he even touch her! I should have him deactivated for that!" He was quiet after that, taking note that people were starting to stare. "I just wished he hadn't been our only option."

"Well," Purple began. "At least it wont last much longer. I mean, she's got the advantage anyways. Besides, he's kind of a weakling, he can't really do all that much to her."

The two entered the bridge and sat in their respectful chairs, taking the drinks and snacks from the awaiting servent drones.

Red sighed after a long sip of the fizzy goodness. "Set a course for Earth."

Aneera stood silently in the lift, holding Gir gently in her arms. She had gotten over feeling bad for what she did, now she was pissed that not only was she once again physically asaulted but she was sick and tired of being pushed around by the little creep.

The lift stopped at a small room, overflowing with beakers, bottles, chemicals and a dozon alienated microscopes. There were nothing but shelves and a counter in this room, aside from the lift the two were in and a very short Irken working diligently on some experiment.

Zim only noticed that he was no longer by himself, but took no interest in aknowledging either of them. He listened as Aneera set Gir down inside the lift and came towards him, obviously unhappy. "What do you want, female?" He said it with much more malice than was appropriate.

"I want you to quit treating me like you hate me!" Aneera put a hand on his shoulder and spun him around to meet her stare.

He glared back with just as much spite. "But I do hate you."

Aneera was taken aback by the boldness of his statement, not quite expecting that. She let go of him and briefly looked away, taking in all of what he just said. "What have I done?" she asked, looking towards him again.

"Nothing, I just hate you. I don't care who or what you are, but you're in my way. If that Tallest hadn't asked me then you wouldn't be here. I would be paying more attention to my mission than to you." With his mind spoken, Zim turned back and continued his work.

Again, Aneera was unprepared for the statement she was left with, ultimately unsatisfied with the outcome of her purpose for paying the little nightmare a visit. "Fine." she said, composing herself. She went back to the lift and took Gir back into her arms, riding the lift up and out of Zim's view.

"Stupid half-thing."

The halls seemed longer, darker and less inviting than usual, the sleek metal walls taunting Aneera with her shame by shoving her reflection in her face. The way it seemed to dance as the metal panels broke, making it dip and come back to stare at her.

She couldn't hear her own footsteps for the loud 'clanks' that echoed down the hall and back. If her arms didn't feel so heavy and useless she'd have picked the robot up just to make the sound leave her alone.

Gir bgan to slow his pace and he pulled her up to a door. It was alone, vacent and bare, but it stood by itself, the only thing in the whole hall, it was wondered what it could possibly be hiding for it to stand out and be in such a deserted section of the base.

Aneera watched Gir activate the small keypad by the door, making her question how he had access to such a room, since Zim obviously didn't trust him very much. Then again, he could be breaking them in, B and E so to speak.

The door opened and revealed a small room, maybe twenty square feet at the most. The walls were a deep purple, the metal floor was a slick silver and the furniture never differed much from the stadard purple and red. There was a small cusiony thing over in the corner, like the one in the room where Aneera had woken up, only this was larger and squared off. There were a few trinkets on the floating table and a few uniforms hanging on the walls.

Gir let go of Aneera's hand and loudly made his way towards the closet door, waiting as it slid open before him. There was an array of clean Invader uniforms hung up accompanied by boots and gloves to match. Gir pushed past the clothing, dragging out an old box from the back.

Aneera stepped inside and peered at the contents and wondered why they would be in a regular... box. She sat next to Gir, who began filtering through the objects and papers, pulling out a small thin tablet. He pressed the small button on the side and handed it to Aneera, looking at her intently before she took it from his hand.

Once the static had faded the video showed the inside of a large room, a group of strange computers on one end and a horde of people on the other, surrounding a platform where a small Irken stood between the Tallest.

_"This Irken has been accused of being defective." announced the disembodied voice, coming from the computers as the small yellow lights flickered when they spoke. It sounded like a group of entities, like the collection of the greatest minds in the universe._

_"He must be!" said the one dressed in purple. "He acts just like one!"_

_"But his programming states that he is perfect and fully functional!" shouted the other._

_The computers hummed and silenced the room. "We will preform a PAK examination, determining what is truth and what is lies."_

_A thin cord flew out from somewhere off-screen, roughly attatcing itself to the small Irken's PAK, a pink glow running the length of the wire in its currents. The small being cried in pain at the information was being forced out of his body and placed on the large screen over the computers._

_Name: ZIM_

_Profession: Academy Student_

_Status: Smeet_

_Program Report: Flawless_

_The word 'Flawless' was flashing, earning a gasp from the crowd. After a few seconds the screen began to flicker and the word changed, replaced with 'DEFECTIVE' in bright red letters._

_"See! He is defective!" cried the purple one, hoping the computers would have something to say to what just happened as he surely didn't know what to make of it._

_"Yes... it would seem so. However, we cannot know for sure." The Tallest's faces dropped. "Send him to the infirmary, have the bug removed. If you get rid of him you may be tossing out your best soldier."_

_The Tallest grumbled and had a guard take Zim away, shaking with fear and unable to speak._

Once he was gone the video went back to static and shut off.

Aneera sat in shock at what she had watched, never realizing that Zim had suffered from knowing that he was defective. Of course she understood that she probably didn't know how serious it was but still, she felt bad that he had to live with that kind of information.

The door shut and Aneera's head darted towards it, Gir had left her alone in Zim's room. She knew she shouldn't be in there, if Zim found out he'd be all over her... but she didn't want to leave, she wanted to know more. However, her higher self said that it was an invasion of privacy that he didn't deserve.

She stood with the tablet in her hand and crawled on top of the bed-like cusion, curling up and laying still until she fell asleep.

Zim stomped down the hall, projecting every different kind of mad there was. His fists were clenched tight, antennae flat against his head and eyes quinted to deadly slits.

How dare she? Come into his lab while he was working! Just to boss him around, HIM! Of all people! It infurriated him to no end, but it annoyed him because he couldn't bring himself to think about something that didn't involve her.

That in itself made him sick, and the fact that she was stuck in his base was not helping in the slightest bit. He did hate her, even if she was the Tallest's guard, she was a she, a female, a useless, inperfect, desgusting FEMALE!

Zim couldn't understand why females were still even manufactured, they were so weak and... and... _icky_! It often disturbed him that way back when Miyuki was Tallest Irkens used to... _mate_.

He shuddered, hating to ponder the subject, but glad that he hadn't ever been a part of such unthinkable acts. The thought continued to haunt and disturb him until he reached his room, needing a relaxing break from everything. He opened the door and stood motionless in the entrance.

Aneera was asleep with her body wrapped around the thin tablet in her hands, her form gently rising up and down in sync with her shallow breathing.

Zim's body was shaking with anger, his left eyes twitching in total disbelief. "FEMALE!" he screeched, straining his claws as if to crush something with his bare hands.

The other Irken jolted awake, startled by the loud and hostile sound. She tunred towards Zim and felt her stomach churn into knots, knowing that she was in huge trouble.

He walked stiffly up to her and shoved a finger violently towards the door. "Out." he said quietly, dangerously.

"But-!" Aneera wanted to talk to him but saw that she'd never get the chance. She was picked up by the collar and hatefully thrown out into the hall.

"If you ever come in here again, I will KILL you!" His voice was filled with such malice it seemed to tear through the air like acid. "I don't care what you are half-breed!"

Aneera had initially felt awful that Zim was in such a bad situation, but he had no right whatsoever to talk to her like that. She glared at him, weakly she had to admit, but anger was anger and she was angry.

She stood to tell him off but as soon as she got close to the door he closed it, locking himself in. "Hey!" she shouted, pounding a fist at the door, clutching the tablet tightly with the other.

"GO AWAY!"

Aneera decided that he wasn't worth her time, she knew it would only be wasted since he wouldn't listen to her anyways, no matter what she had to say. With a long and deep sigh she turned and walked back down the hall, forgetting the small object that was still clutched in her grasp.

Aneera: You aren't very nice.

Zim: I'm an Invader, I don't get paid to be nice.

Aneera: ... you get paid?

Zim: Er... no.

Aneera: I didnt think so. VOTE!

Zim: No!

Aneera: Shut up! I don't get paid to deal with your nonsence.

Zim: You get paid?

Aneera: YES!

Zim: I hate you.


	5. Blue Roses: Chapter Four

The moon was waning that night, slowly disappearing into its own darkness, just another indicator that she was left alone and everything present was currently leaving her.

The aloneness was enough to upset her, being in such a weird place, having everything you ever knew turn out to be lies, including your whole life. To be suddenly forced into a totaly different society with hardly any explanation or support was plenty enough to drive one insane, especially if you have to deal with the fact that the particular society is one that the entire planet is so convinced didn't exist.

Aneera had long ago given up on finding comfort in anything that wasn't part of herself, she now realized that where she had come from and what she was not subject to any positive emotion, such as comfort or support. So, she found comfort, best she could, in herself, and sometimes Gir as he was the ONLY thing that voluntarily showed her any type of affection.

She had to admit though, living at home wasn't all that much better, she was pretty much ignored anyways, so living with a psychotic, bipolar, egotistical, ungreatful alien wasn't much of a leap. Of course the green skin and buggy red eyes was hard to get used to, looking herself in the mirror is still a challenge, but in the end, she couldn't do a thing to change it, so why should she bother trying?

Laying on the couch in a sort of daze was plenty enough for her at the moment, she was still a little upset that Zim had treated her so poorly, but she did know that he wanted this to be over just as much as she did, he obviously was not a people person.

But she still couldn't shake this feeling that she had, it was like she was incredibly desperate for him to be nice to her, like if he could do that one small thing then everything would be okay. She knew somewhere in the back of her mind that it would never happen, but she hoped it would, at least there would be someone she could at least talk and relate to as she was being forced into this strange new world.

Aneera looked over as the gentle hiss gave away the presence of Zim as he entered the house through the floor. His gaze was still the same as it was when he threw her out of the room earlier, malicious and hateful. "Female." he adressed her, taking a step in her direction.

He didn't receive an answer, the little Irken on the couch kept silent and held a steady, lifeless stare.

Zim looked as though he was going to kill himself for saying his next sentence. "Forgive my... behavior." He looked away and sneered at the wall, seeming to choke. "But you should not have-"

"Am I dreaming?" she asked simply, the look on her face never faltering except that she was now looking past Zim altogether.

"Uh... no." he replied, slightly iritated that he'd been interrupted.

She stayed silent for a moment before saying anything else. "Oh... what a shame."

Zim was confused at her strange behavior, he wasn't sure if she was even talking to _him_ anymore. She seemed incredibly distant. He finally opened his mouth to say something but once again was denied the chance.

Aneera turned her head away from him and closed her eyes, humming a tune that Zim didn't recognize. At first it was quiet and he strained to hear it, but once she hummed louder he heard her perfectly. He didn't know the song, it must have been Earthen, but it was different than what he heard most humans listen to.

"_It's time to move out of the darkness, use what you feel inside. Your faith alone will guide you, feel the turning tide._" At this point Aneera had begun to sing, still quietly and to herself.

Zim was completely befuddled and realized that trying to talk to her would probably be like trying to talk to the wall, useless and a waste of time. However, the softness of the song and choice of words were enough to spike his curiosity, so he sat on the floor and listened.

"_It's in your heart, it's in your soul_

_don't be scared, keep believing._

_I know you know, deep inside_

_That your time has come._

_Once in every lifetime_

_if you do believe_

_Man can move a mountain,_

_change the course of history._

_How far we've come_

_So far... from home."_

Zim didn't particularly like the song, nor did he know why she was singing it, but he couldn't help but listen to it, no matter how obsured he thought himself for it. He did admit though, watching her behave in such ways was very interesting.

"_Trust in your path, you've been chosen_

_Become your destiny_

_Lead and they will follow you,_

_your truth will set you free._

_It's in your heart, it's in your sould_

_don't be scared, keep believeing._

_I know you know, deep inside_

_That your time has come._

_Once in every lifetime_

_if you do believe_

_Man can move a mountain_

_change the course of history._

_How far we've come_

_So far... from home._"

The words seemed to flow from her lips like an icy mist, cold but with a dreamlike distance. Zim didn't know if she was fully aware of herself or not, but if she was her behavior was not normal and for a moment he thought that he should be concerned.

"_Once in every lifetime_

_if you do believe._

_Man can move a mountain, _

_change the course of history._

_How far we come_

_So far... from home."_

Aneera's voice died down and she seemed to have fallen asleep or she was just being eerily still.

Zim slowly stood up and walked over to her and watched her closely, hearing the shallow steady breathing, she had fallen asleep. He scrunched his face in annoyence, he never got to finish what he wanted to say a few minutes ago before she started acting weird. But dwelling on it wouldn't make matters for him any better.

The house was quiet save for the gentle hum of the base as the electricity moved through wires and machines gently hissed with life. Gir's squealing and yelling had been confined to the lower levels of the base so as not to disturb his Master.

Zim waited patiently for a while, hoping that the girl would wake up sometime soon, he had better things to do then wait around for her so her could yell and complain to her. He sighed and glanced at her, watching as she rolled over onto her side and yawned. He didn' notice at first, but there was something tucked underneath her with only the corner showing. He leaned over and jerked it out from under her, causing her to sit up in alarm.

"What happened!" She looked around and her eyes landed on Zim.

He seemed confused but angry at the same time, his eyes narrowing as he watched the screen in his hands.

Aneera didn't quite put two and two together, so she didn't think that him knowing she'd have that particular video screen would anger him in any way. But oddly enough his face reddened and his hands shook with rage.

"Where did you get this?" he hissed, shooting a death stare at her. "WHERE!"

Having not expected such a violent reaction out of him, Aneera cringed away and held her arms up in defense. She knew that if she told him that Gir had given it to her then Zim would surely hurt the poor robot. "I... I found it." she lied, hoping it was convincing.

"You took it from my room!" He bared his teeth and hissed again, turning fully towards her.

She couldn't say anything at this point to keep him from completely losing it and she'd feel bad if she hurt him in resisting whatever he was going to do to her. "Yes," she said quietly, curling herself into a ball away from him, preparing for the worst.

Zim didn't say anything for a moment, his right eye twitching with his antennae. He didn't know how to respond, other than screaming useless insults. "Stupid female!" he screamed, throwing the tablet across the room. "If you say ONE word! ONE! I'll make you miserable for the rest of your life!"

Aneera slowly nodded and watched him closely, his faced seemed more pained than angered, so why did he yell so much? Was he pretending to be angry? She reached over to see if he was ok, comfort might help his mood.

However, Zim didn't take too kindly to her seemingly harmless gesture, grabbing her by the wrist and refusing to let her go, once again directing his glare at her. "Don't touch me female."

"Then talk to me! Why are you so angry?" She pulled her hand back once he let go, holding it close as if protecting it from another potential death grip. "Why is this such a big deal to you?"

In any other case Zim would have disregarded the person and ignored them completely, blowing off the entire previous conversation altogether. He would have claimed that he had no idea what they were talking about and, depending on the situation, simply walk away. But he'd done it so often... and she didn't realize what was going on, if anything telling her could at least save her from anymore embarrassment.

He sighed and closed his eyes. "Do you know what defective means?"

"Uhh..." was the only brilliant answer she could come up with.

"It means I'm not perfect." Zim replied, hating the conversation already.

Aneera's face suddenly looked irritated. "You got mad because I found out that you aren't perfect! Nobody is perfect!"

Zim glared at her again, instantly shutting her up. "If you aren't a perfect Irken, you're a _dead_ Irken! I was supposed to be deactivated just like all the other rejects! But my faulty programming hid the fact that I was defective... the Tallest weren't convinced, even after what the Control Brains said. But they gave in anyways, letting me live. I was put in with everyone else, through training, the academy, everything. But I didn't belong with them, I didn't belong anywhere. Eventually I just began to lie to myself, making myself believe that I really was perfect, just so I wouldn't have to live with the pain anymore. But I don't belive it, I only pretend to... Sometimes I think it would be better to be dead than living a lie." He fell silent and looked away, too ashamed to know how she'd react.

It was over now, she knew and he couldn't take it back. She'd reject him just like everyone else did, only because he wasn't perfect and he had to open his big fat mouth. He'd be lucky if she so much as yelled at him.

Aneera sat quietly, taking a minute to contemplate what he had said. It was wrong to judge people on how perfect they were, they were still people. Knowing that she was the same species as these crackhead Irkens horrified her. What would life be like for her now? She couldn't survive in these conditions!

"Well I don't care that you aren't perfect... you're still a person." she said, feeling better that she'd at least spoken her mind.

Zim's eyes snapped open and his head darted in her direction. "Wh... What?"

"I said that I don't care that you aren't perfect. And I don't care what others will think of me, but I'd rather be inperfect." She looked back at him, awaiting a rant on how stupid she was for thinking such horrid thoughts.

But Zim didn't have such a rant in mind, instead, he seemed somewhat happy with her response. "You mean... you wont reject me? Even if I'm defective?"

Aneera smiled and shook her head, crossing her arms proudly. "Nope."

Zim's lips twitched into a faint smile, before his face went dark and looked worried. "You can't just go around accepting defectives, people will think you are one. So just keep this between us ok?"

With a quick nod Aneera lunged forward and tightly wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head gently on his shoulder. She felt him move away and quickly pulled back. "I'm sorry, I-"

"It's ok... I've... never been shown affection before... I'll get used to it." After a short pause he held his arms open for her and did his best to not cringe away. He did like it, being shown this kind of happy emotion, even though every part of his body tried to reject it.

The two sat in each other's arms until sleep began to dominate their consciousness, pulling them both into its inky blackness. Their breathing slowed and shallowed as all of their muscles relaxed, letting them fall limp on each other.

Their peaceful sleep, however, was short-lived as a loud siren blared through the base and jolted them awake. A bright red light flashed on and off, casting the room in a red hue every few seconds.

Zim rubbed his eyes and sat up, pulling Aneera with him. "Computer, what is it?"

"**Intruder alert. Cameras confirm infiltator is... Dib.**"

Groaning, Zim slid off the couch and looked around, spotting the small kid hiding in a corner. "Dib, you're pathetic."

The black figure hunched in the corner stood up and seemed to shoot him a 'look who's talking' stare. The boy removed his mask and glared. "Since when did you SLEEP with anyone!... Since when did you sleep at all? And who is she!... Wait... This isn't gonna be like another Tak incident is it?"

Zim walked over to the table at the end of the couch and pulled a laser gun out of the drawer, pointing at Dib. "Go away, you're annoying." He didn't have to pull the trigger, Dib had already bolted out of the door and was halfway down the street. "Stupid big-headed Dib-thing."

Aneera groggily sat up and yawned, streaching out her arms above her head. "Who was that?" she asked, holding Zim's wrists as he lifted her off the couch.

"Don't worry about him, he's stupid." He set her down and took her hand, leading her to the lift in the far wall, making sure she didn't run into anything. Once he guided her inside he pulled her close for support, keeping her steady as they were lowered down into the labs.

"Where are we going?" Aneera whispered, clutching Zim's uniform for better support.

Zim yawned and stood her up a little more, making sure she didn't fall. "You'll see."

The lift stopped and seeing as Aneera was slipping back under Zim picked her up and carried her the rest of the way, hearing nothing but her shallow breathing and the hum of the lab. He silently walked the halls, steadily growing weary as he carried the small girl around.

Once he reached his bedroom door at the end of the last hall he slipped inside and gently set her on the bed. Suddenly all of the pain from yelling and screaming came rushing in, making his head throb and ache.

Zim fell to the floor and held his head in his hands, groaning in pain as the pulsing sensation grew. He felt a gentle hand and looked up, wincing at the movement.

Aneera took his hand in hers and weakly pulled, her eyes flickering open every few seconds. As Zim did his best to crawl into the bed she snuggled close to him for warmth, never letting go of his hand.

Aneera woke with a start, jolting upright out of bed. "EEP! What was that!" She rubbed her eyes and looked around, hearing Zim yelling at her from out in the hall. His muffled voice made no sense to her at all, it was a jumble of jibberish and random english in odd places.

She slid off the bed and opened the door, feeling irritated that she had been woken up at such an early hour. When the door opened and showed Zim in his wig and contacts her immediate reaction was; "I don't care where it is you're going but I'm sure me sleeping is more important than me accompanying you."

Zim crossed his arms. "You're used to eight hours of sleep, you got nine. You're coming with me." He grabbed her wrist and guided her into the elevator and up to the house level.

In the livingroom, Gir was watching the Angry Monkey show while eating homemade waffles and bacon. The kitchen was a wreck, laiden with various utensils and bowls, towels and the occasional discarded waffle.

"Gir!" Zim dropped Aneera's hand and poited to the kitchen. "Clean the kitchen."

The robot sat and stared at his Master for a moment before squealing and flopping around on the floor.

"Now then," Zim continued. "Time for school." He shoved Aneera out the door before she could complain, protest or argue, activating her temporary holographic disguise.

The air outside was much less humid than what she was used to and Aneera took a deep breath, savoring the crisp, cold oxygen that she wasn't used to, but loved. She took in the scenery, the sun peeking over the trees, listening to birds sing their morning greetings and shivering with content at the cool temperature.

The clouds in the sky were thin and high, letting the pure blue sky dominate most everything above the horizon. As the sun began to rise higher and leave its hiding place behind the trees, Aneera covered her eyes and smiled, feeling the warm rays of the sun kiss her skin goodmorning.

"Is it always this nice outside?" she asked, turning to look at the very emotionless Zim next to her.

"Eh, when it's not raining," he replied, offering no further response on the subject. He continued to walk steadily with his arms uniformly crossed behind his back.

Aneera looked at him closely, he was very military-like, like a soldier. She knew that their soldiers couldn't possibly be anything like the ones on Earth, fighting for their freedom, because the way he acted made it seem like they already had theirs. So what did their soldiers fight for?

She was going to ask him but he suddenly stopped and held a hand out to keep her from going any farther. "Don't move."

Zim squinted his eyes in irritation and lightly hissed to himself. "Dib."

"Who?" Aneera asked, looking around before her eyes fell on a small boy with a long black trench coat and spiked hair, his glasses glinting in the sunshine. "Him?" she whispered, wondering if that was who Zim was referring to.

He hissed again in confirmation, dragging her around the corner as they walked in a new direction. "This way is shorter."

"Why? What's going on? Is that the kid from-?"

"Yes," Zim interrupted, speeding up until they were almost running down the street. "I don't like to deal with him anymore than I have to."

They continued their route until a large building with the word 'SKOOL' written on the room came into view. There was a horde of kids hanging out in the front yard and a group sitting along the edge of a large tiered fountain. Some kids were coming and going through the large double doors in the front.

Zim darted for the front doors and slipped inside unseen, Aneera tripping over her feet to try and keep up with him. He quietly led her to the front desk and let go of her hand, standing on his toes to get the attention of the lady in front of him.

"Why hello there Zim~!" she sang, ignoring the fact that Zim cringed at her voice. "What can I do for you?"

He sighed and tried his very best to act happy. "I need an application to Ms. Bitters' classroom... please."

The lady smiled cheerfully and pulled out a blue sheet of paper, handing it to him with a smile. She then turned away to call Ms. Bitters and inform her of her new student.

Zim took a seat next to the desk and began filling in information. Aneera sat beside him and looked over his shoulder and watched him. The words he was writing were't english in the slightest, but an array of odd shapelike symbols.

"It's written in... forign..." Aneera said, pointing to the page.

Zim smirked and kept writing. "It's Irken."

"Oh..." Aneera kept silent until he finished, watching in interest as his hand swept fluidly over the lines, marking them with his native language. Once he was done he read over it to make sure it was to his liking.

"So... why not english?" she asked, wanting to know the method to his madness.

Zim put his pen away and continued to check his work. "Buiyen, because. I don't want them to know any information, but i can't just not give it. So I write in Irken, they don't care." Zim then stood up and walked up to the desk again and handing the lady Aneera's application form.

The lady smiled, giggling at the sheet of paper. "Oh Zim, always striving to be unique!" She turned and filled the form and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "You two can run off to class now~!" she sang, waving them off.

Zim took Aneera's wrist and guided her down the halls, telling her to keep her head low and her eyes down. He ignored the comments that others shot at them, the rude gestures and odd noises were things he had gotten used to.

Aneera snuck a few glances and couldn't understand why everyone was so interested in them, well of course there was the fact that they were green, but hadn't everyone gotten used to that already? "How come they're being so... mean?" she whispered.

Zim didn't answer, he only kept his steady pace and looked at no one, not letting his gaze falter until they reached the door of the classroom. "When we walk inside Ms. Bitters will give you a rant, ignore it and sit down, don't say a word."

With that they walked in, Aneera still hanging her head with her eyes downcast and following in Zim's footsteps. He took his seat and let go of her, leaving her in front of everyone by herself. Most of the kids were already sitting down, waiting for the teacher to do something horrible, so they had their eyes on the new kid.

The teacher slinked out of her seat and loomed over the small girl, hissing with anger. She gave her little speach, which went in one antennae and out the other, thought Aneera couldn't imagine that it was all that important anyway. Once the witch was done Aneera sped off to first open seat she saw. It wasn't next to Zim, but there was only one small kid between them, one they could both easily look over since he was only about two feet tall.

The kids outside were starting to diminish and go to their respective rooms for the day. The last kid to enter the room, who was five seconds from being late, was the boy they saw on their walk over to the skool.

Ms. Bitters hissed upon his arrival, glaring with spite at his very existance. "DIB! You were almost late!"

Dib, who was no more than a foot in the door, sighed looking bored. "Sorry, I was up late and I missed to bus so I had to walk."

She looked at him, speculating his story. "You've been staying up late a lot!"

He sighed again and pointed at Zim, as if to accuse him. "That's because I was spying on Zim! It's obvious that unless I have solid evidence you wont believe me!" He turned to the rest of the class and continued, "I mean seriously! He's green! Isn't that enough proof! The last time I checked there was no medical condition that turned someone's skin gre-!" He stopped, his eyes moving to the side and landing on Aneera. He squinted and looked at her oddly, before his eyes practically popped out of his head. "YOU! You were the girl from last night!"

"Woah Dib! We don't need to hear about the things you DO over there!" yelled one of the kids, making everyone else snicker and giggle.

Dib's face flushed, his pupils shrinking to the size of the head of a pin. "NO! I-!"

Aneera turned her head to the child who yelled the comment and hissed, making everyone instantly shut their mouths. She didn't turn until she heard Zim's voice whisper her voice. Then she sunk into her seat and looked down, trying to disappear into the air.

Dib silently took his seat on the opposite end of the room and kept a close eye on her, already knowing that even though this wouldn't help his 'alien' argument he still needed to make sure she didn't try anything.

This was kept up until recess rolled around, then all of the kids stampeded out of the room and joined the rest of the mob in the hallway, making a mass of loud and disgusting. Zim, Aneera and Dib were the last of the kids to leave, having not much interest in going outside with a bigger horde of children.

As they walked out Dib kept his distance behind the two Irkens, wanting to have both in his sight at all times. But as they got outside they were lost in the massive crowd, frustrating him greatly. "Well this is sad, how could I possibly lose _them_?"

Zim had escaped the mass and had lead Aneera to a large oak on the small hill in the corner of the lot, overlooking the rest of the small designated recess area. Zim sat down and took out one of his portable computers, quickly emersiing himself in work.

Aneera sat next to him and laid her head on his shoulder, watching him work dispite the fact that she had no idea what he was doing. But as she began to get comfortable he slightly jerked away and eyed her strangely. "What happened last night doesn't mean you can be all... clingy. I may have said I'd get used to affection... but that's when I decide to give it."

She backed away and gave them a few feet of space, pulling up her knees and resting her head, watching the rest of the kids play and laugh. After their screams and yells became muffled noises she watched the clouds, growing bored and restless. After having had enough she stood and told Zim was going to walk around for a while. He simply told her to keep her mouth shut and not get involved with anyone.

Aneera walked down the hill and felt the stiffness leave her joints, letting her move around more easily. She didn't particularly care for the air, but it was still nice to be outside. As she walked around, not really watching the kids anymore, her mind began to drift and wonder. Eventually she got so wrapped up in her thoughts that she accadentally ran into someone.

"Oh, I..." She looked up at who she had bumped into and instantly saw the whole situation going downhill, fast. The boy was at least twice her height, biult much broader and thicker, and didn't look all too friendly. The jersey he was wearing said 'TORQUE' is big letters across the front, which already sounded not good.

He smiled viciously at her and crossed his arms. "Well well well, if it isn't Zim's new girlfriend!" The three guys sanding behind him chuckled and and smiled just as hatefully. "I think we should teach her that it's rude to run into people." The guys gave affirmative murmers and grins.

Aneera started to back away but Torque picked her up by her collar, easily keeping control despite her kicking and struggling. "Where are you going? We haven't even started yet." As a last resort Aneera reached up and clawed at his hand, quickly drawing blood.

There was a small yelp and she was dropped to the ground. She looked up and saw Torque's face instantly change to furious, which was concentrated on her. At first, fear didn't register, she was more concerned with what Zim was going to do to her when he found out, but after a moment she realized that he wasn't the matter at hand. She jumped to her feet and turned to sprint away but the moment she was on the ground had given the goons time to block her in.

"Heh heh, so sorry but we aren't finished!" He watched as she turned and brought his fist back, waiting for her to face him.

Aneera watched motionless as his fist came down, feeling helpless as the slow-moving hand caught her square in her throat. Her eyes dialated and she suddenly lost the ability to breathe, being able to choke out one short cry of pain before hitting the ground hard.

Zim's head jerked up and he immediately saw her, barely, amongst Torque's group. At first he was annoyed because he'd have to step in and stop everything, but when he realized she wasn't hardly moving, his mind suddenly switched and he let insticts take over. He yanked off his gloves and leaped to his feet.

The guys standing around Aneera were laughing as she clawed at her throat, desperately trying to take in air. Her vision was getting hazy and she couldn't close her eyes for fear that they wouldn't open. She no longer had any interest in the others, knowing they could now see the tears pour from her eyes in pain.

Torque laughed at her misery, not really knowing the full extent of what he'd done, but not caring enough to think twice about it. He was about to turn and leave when he saw his group move, hearing the blood-curdling scream that ripped from Zim's throat.

Zim had charged them from the edge of the pavement, screaming as he ran. As he reached the group he pushed off and launched himself at Torque, his bare claws spread to attack and his fangs barred, ready to bite.

As the two collided Zim immediately left deep gashes on the side of Torque's face, knocking them both to the ground. He started to bite and scratch, hoping to get damage done before he was thrown off by the other. Torque's cries of pain and anger could already be heard as he went for the small alien, blindly attacking.

The three other boys had disappeared by now and Aneera was left helpless on ground, still clawing and kicking, creeping more and more towards darkness as her throat reafused to open. The kids that had been around had given the two boys plenty of room to fight, while screaming and cheering them on.

Zim screamed and fought with every ounce of force he had, being slowly overpowered by the much larger boy he was up against. As he was once again thrown to the ground he backed away, taking a protective stance between the boy and Aneera. As he gave one more warning screetch, someone burst through the crowd and yelled at everyone to calm down and go inside.

Torque was lead inside by one of the diciplinary ladys while Ms. Bitters, shrowded in a cloak, yanked Zim up off the ground and hissed, shutting him up but not keeping him from fighting. Then a couple of paramedics rushed in and scooped up Aneera, laying her on a streatcher and hauling her off to the ambulance. Ms. Bitters followed and tossed Zim inside before they left, who was still being controlled by his instincts.

The doors shut and the ambulance sped off, the siren being the last thing anyone in the skool heard of the incident.

Aneera: Well, I decided that if there is no pain, there is no gain.

Zim: I'm so not paying your medical bill...

Aneera: Anyways, this took a while, but it's now here and done, so bow in the pressence of its greatness!

Zim: No.

Aneera: Why?

Zim: 'Cause, you wrote it.


	6. Blue Roses: Chapter Five

The sirens blared into the back of the ambulance, making Zim's antennas throb. His vision was becoming blurry and the noises he heard started to fade to a muffled thumping sound. He felt dizzy for a moment, feeling as though he was going to collapse where he sat, until everything came rushing back, crystal clear.

Zim looked around frantically, his eyes darting from the paramedic in front of him to the small quivering Irken girl on the bed, her eyes strained open and foggy. He choked when he saw her and started asking frantic questions to make sure she was still awake. After a moment he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Kid," The paramedic looked at Zim, gently setting him back down as Zim didn't know he'd stood up. "She can't hear you, she's unconscious."

For a moment Zim thought he was being funny, but when he looked at her again the cold prick of realizatinon coursed through his body like fire. Then he felt something entirely different, like he really wanted to cry, but couldn't think of any real reason why he felt this way. He slumped back into his seat and kept silent and still until they reached the hospital.

The whole while the paramedic was bent over, trying his very best to at least get her to open her throat just a little. He tried pushing her chest to force it open, he tried forcing air down her throat and he even went as far to attempt giving her CPR, but as soon as he started to bend over her he jerked back up when Zim hissed at him, laying the boundry.

As the ambulance pulled into the hospital lot and in front of the emergency room doors, the paramedic started screaming orders to the other guy in the passenger seat. The back doors flung open and two younger female nurses in unifroms pulled out the stretcher and looked the poor girl over.

The taller female with long, thick ringlets framing her face turned her attention towards Zim and her expressioned softened. "Are you her brother?"

The only intelligent answer he was able to come up with with was a resounding; "Eh?" But the nurses just went with it, not caring if he meant a 'yes' or 'no' or whatever. By the time Zim did come up with something better to say he was being dragged along by the other nurse, in and out of crowds.

The halls were bleached white and there were people backing against the walls, staring in awe at the two strange green children. Zim ignored their gasps, wanting to have nothing to do with them. He kept both eyes fixated on Aneera's trambling hands and glazed eyes, feeling his squeedlyspooch squeeze and contort into ways that made Zim feel like throwing up.

The nurses wheeled Aneera into a vacent room that was at the end of the hall, having a doctor rush in shortly after. He was yelling everything so loud and fast that Zim couldn't process anything that came out of him mouth. He was looking from the doctor to the nurses back to the doctor, then to Aneera and back to the doctor.

By the time Zim started to get a minute idea about what was going on the doctor had already dashed out of the room, leaving the nurses to shoot questions at Zim. Each qestion alternated between each nurse, starting with the pretty curly-haired one.

"What's her name?"

"Aneera."

"Where was she born?"

"Uh, Foxfield Colorado."

"How old is she?"

"... sixteen."

Zim had to rack his brain for the fake identity the Tallest had conjured up for her, since this is the first time he'd ever had to pretty much retell it.

"Any medical conditions? Allergies, sicknesses, diseases, abnormalities?"

"No."

"Then why is she green?... Why are you green!"

"It's a skin condition."

"Which one?"

"Uhh..."

For a moment Zim thought they would be found out, but fortunately the doctor sped back into the room as the nurses turned to look at him. Zim's eyes widened and he put on the most normal facade he could muster.

The doctor whispered to the two girls, the brown-haired nurse with the huge ringlets glanced over at Zim every few seconds, her expression changing from soft to what seemed almost like pity for him. After the doctor had finished he left out the door with the curly-haired nurse at his heels.

Zim began looking around, not really sure what to do. The other nurse was doing a quiet visual exam on Aneera, noting her breathing and such, not letting herself look at Zim as if afraid of him. He could sort of understand why, he was, or he thought he was, intimidating.

When the nurse finished up with the girl she quickly took her leave, almost bounding out of the room and leaving Zim by himself. He silently took a seat on the large windowsil by the bed and pulled out his portable computer, deciding that getting some work done might be a good idea.

As the sun began to set the commotion within the hospital walls thinned to faint whispers and the occasional scream and quarrel. The rooms grew dim with the orange sunlight, bathing the floors in pools of inky blackness and bright oranges, keeping most rooms bright, but eerily peaceful for a hospital.

Zim had curled up on the ledge of the window and got only a fraction of the work done he wanted, groaning with the frustration of knowing he'd have to stay up all night again just to get it all done. As he let out a huff of irritation, the doctor, who hadn't been seen for twenty minutes, lunged into the room with two screaming nurses trailing behind him.

The two ladies took either of Aneera's arms and braced her against the bed while the doctor yanked a syringe from his coat pocket.

By this time Zim was on his feet and on the verge of instict mode. His eyes darted between the needle, the nurses, the doctor and Aneera, taking in every detail until something clicked. He jumped up and took ahold of the doctor's right arm, hanging on with his feet barely touching the ground. "Don't touch her!" he yelled, grabbing for the needle.

The doctor, who still remained nameless, had a crazed look in his eyes like he had gone mad. The nurses were obviously aware of this, seeing as they were helping with the dirty work, but Zim didn't trust any of them.

The curly-haired nurse looked at Zim and silently pleaded to him to let go, knowing he was clueless as to what they were trying to do.

Zim only stared back, his eyes narrowed as he and the nurse exchanged a silent argument, both knowing what the other was thinking. As Zim made a final desicion that they were not to touch the girl the nurse screamed out to him.

"But she'll die if you don't!"

Zim didn't have time between when he let go and when he hit the floor to decide whether or not that medicine was what was going to kill her or her lack of breathing, not knowing what chemicals her body could handle aside the typical Irken sensitivities.

The doctor stabbed her skin, slanting towards her throat from between her shoulder and neck, and forced the liquid into her body.

For a moment the walls seemed to pulse with the pain she felt as her eyes shot open and her throat ripped itself apart to make way for the scream that tore from her very being.

As the doctor emptied the small syringe Aneera had begun to kick and jerk away from the others, only half into reality. Her antennae throbbed and felt like they were covered with cotton, muffling everything that was happening. Her eyesight was blurry and she felt dizzy.

At this point Zim wasn't worried whether or not the medicine was poisonous, but what would happen if she turned on them and lost control again. Then he thought of the Tallest, what they would think of him if they heard about this, what they might do to him.

Aneera continued to fight against the nurses, quickly losing her strength and hold on the real world. Soon her body gave into the black void and she slipped in, closing her eyes and laying quietly on the bed, but steadily breathing.

The nurses then gently led the doctor out of the room and left the two alone, closing the door behind them. The room was silent except for Aneera's breathing, which was now much thicker and fuller than the thin gasps she was taking in earlier.

Zim took his seat back on the windowsil and watched her carefully, deciding that as soon as she woke up he'd take her home and deal with her then. Until this happened he pulled his computer back out and continued his business, scowling as he glanced over the top to look at the girl.

* * *

Aneera slowly opened one eye, then the other. She let her eyes relax until the white world came into focus, the sight of the pale yellow moon bringing her back to life. She pulled a shakey hand up next to her face and pushed against the bed, only to have it slide from underneath her.

A pair of bright red, slitted eyes peered at her from over a small computer, glaring harshly. Zim sat up straight and put the small device away, watching Aneera's moves carefully as she made another attempt at sitting up herself.

Once she failed for a fourth time Zim decided that this was going to take entirely too long on its own. So he moved over towards her and easily picked her up, feeling how weak she was.

He approached the glass window and quickly cut out a large square chunk. As the piece of glass fell to the ground Zim jumped from the edge into the light of the moon. Before Aneera could hold up a finger to argue the danger of jumping from a sixty-foot window a thin metal board materialized under Zim's feet and they were whisked away.

The flight home took mere minutes, so by the time the doctors figured out one of their patients was missing it was too late. Zim was already down in his labs while Aneera sat tiredly on the couch with Gir.

The clock on the TV was nearing ten and Aneera was too tired to sleep and too restless to stay put any longer. She patted Gir's head, bidding him good night, before heading down to the labs to see what Zim was doing, feeling it had to be infinately more interesting than sitting on the couch.

She wasn't particularly sure as to his whereabouts, but his shouting was plenty loud enough to help her. The lift took her to large, circular room on one of the middle levels. She could clearly see Zim, who was about ten yards in front of her, pushing buttons and watching as the screen that was in front of him started flashing. Aneera ducked behind the shaft of the lift and watched closely.

Zim stood at attention as the Tallest's faces appeared on the screen, almost happy to see him. "Invader Zim, reporting sirs."

"Ah," Red's face twisted into a smile. "We were wondering when you'd report in. How are things?"

Zim clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "I don't think I should answer that." He knew very well he'd begin to rant and he'd probably say hateful things that might end him up in trouble.

Red's smile only grew. "Really? You sure? If you'd like to tell us then go ahead, we wont punish you."

Purple's face, too, contorted itself into something of a smile, though more carefree and less serious.

The thought of being able to say anything without getting in trouble was enough to convince Zim to let out what he needed to say. "IT'S AWEFUL! I can't STAND her! She's such a PAIN! She can't listen to anything I say and because of it she was rushed off to the HOSPITAL! We almost got found out! SHE ALMOST BLEW OUR COVER!"

"Aww, really?" Red was enjoying seeing the small Irken throw his fit, it was something of a childish thing which added to the morbid humor of it all.

"And she's so nice! IT'S SICKENING! It makes my squeedlyspooch feel disgusting! Not to mention the fact that she's so idiotic and STUPID! Just like the hYOOmans! Forgive my insults but she doesn't seem any better than the rest of them! She's been here too long, I don't even think she's Irken anymore!"

Zim couldn't deny that it felt good to get rid of the anger that was built up inside him, to express the way he felt to others who seemed willing to listen.

"Oh my," gasped Purple, almost serious. "Well you wont have to put up with her much longer." The two waved as the transmission cut, leaving the room noticably darker.

Zim stood on his little platform heaving, his energy exherted. For the moment the feeling of emotion had left him, giving him the sensation that he was numb all over.

Aneera ducked down deeper as Zim headed back for the lift, leaving the room and having not noticed that the room still wasnt empty. As the small round plate rose upwards towards his living quarters Aneera stepped over the cords and slipped into the lift, hiding her face in the dark and leaving a small trail of tiny water droplets. She waited a moment before she took off, leaving a minute or so worth of time between her and Zim.

* * *

"Stupid, Stupid, STUPID **FEMALE**!" Zim stormed down the hall and hissed violently, barring his teeth in rage. As he came to his door it flew open, letting him quickly pass through and fling himself onto his bed, screaming obscinities in his native tongue. Once his frustration had been dispensed he rolled over and scowled at his ceiling.

He had always hated women, they were never good invaders, they talked WAY too excessively and they weren't fit to do a man's job. He couldn't understand why she should be so special. So what is she had "special abilities," it make much of a difference, she was still a girl, therefore, substandard.

A loud stomping noise echoed off the walls and bounced into his room. He sat up and looked towards the door, more annoyed than ever. Gir always picked the worse times to bother him.

The door flew open and Gir was not standing on the threshold.

Aneera, glaring ferociously, bolted for Zim, screaming angrily. "YOU JERK!" She latched onto the front of his uniform and launched him acroos the room and through the door, where he promptly smashed into the opposite wall.

Zim looked up and rubbed the back of his head. "What is your _problem_!"

"YOU! YOU'RE MY PROBLEM! Because appearantly, I'm YOUR problem! If you have such an issue with me than say it to my face! Don't go _crying_ to your leaders, you big wuss!" She began walking towards him and yanked off her gloves, pushing up her sleeves. "And you know what else you are! You're an IDIOT! You can't do ANYTHING right! You're robot is STUPID and _how_ long have you been here!"

Zim gripped her wrists as she hoisted him off the floor, slamming him against the wall one more time for good measure. "You-... choking... me-!" He caughed and gripped tighter.

Aneera hissed and slitted her eyes. "Oh really? Well then now you know how _I_ felt! I had to go to the hospital because some guy thought it would be funny to beat up on a little girl! And you know what? I could have taken him easily! But I felt like being a good person and NOT blowing your cover! So DON'T go and BLAME all of this on ME!" She threw him to the ground and breathed heavily, feeling a pounding headache begin to throb.

With a grunt Zim was able to pull himself to his feet and stand up, throwing horrible glares towards the other. "Why not? This wouldn't have happened if you weren't here!"

"OH MY GOD!" As Aneera stepped forward her wings flared out from behind her as her tail made a dangerous whipping noise. "You horrid little _**DEFECT**_! I didn't ask to-!"

"What did you say?" Zim lifted his head and shot daggers into her eyes, silently wishing they were real.

She stepped closer and tightened her fists. "Defect. Isn't that what you are! I thought they were wrong to judge you on perfection, because you should be judged on character! But you know what! You're character is HORRIBLE! You are the rudest, most annoying, self-centered _THING_ I've ever met!" A shot of pain ripped through her head and she nearly fell to the floor.

Zim stood unnaturally still, watching her closely. "So you do reject me?"

Aneera lifted her head sharply and held a finger out in preparation for more yelling, but the pain hit again and she had to lean against the wall for support. "Does it really matter? You hate me and I haven't known you long enough to have much of an opinion." She took a deep shakey breath and gently slid to the floor, hoping to ease the pain. "Besides, I wont have to stay here much longer anyways."

"Good. The sooner you're gone the better." Zim stood up straight and fixed his uniform.

"Are you serious? Have you-... Y-you know what? Fine." She stood up clumsily and looked him straight in the eye. "But don't think you're dumb threat will scare me out of leaking you're little secret to everyone." She smiled deviously as she watched him snarl, loving how much control she had over this situation.

"You woudn't." Zim's eyes narrowed furiously, twitching in rythm with his antennae.

"Woudn't I? I don't know you well enough to care not to, so either you lighten up and start being nice for a change, or I'll give everyone a copy of you're humiliation." She threw him one last dagger for good measure before storming back down the hall. "When you're ready to stop being an idiot you can come apologize to me in the living room."

* * *

Gir sat in the middle of the hall, his Master's room locked like a fortress and the Pretty Lady up stairs having a hissy fit. All he wanted was someone to play with him, but not even Minimoose was in high spirits that day.

He finally stood up and turned around, hobbling over to the large, metallic door that led to Zim's private quarters. He wanted to make things better, and he really liked Aneera, he just didn't understand why they couldn't get along.

With a slow, hesitant fist Gir knocked on the door, blinking as he got yells and insults back. "Master?" It went quiet, and he assumed he had been mistaken for the girl. "I wanna come in."

"No."

"But... Pretty Lady is all mad and you're all mad and..." The tears started coming as the little robot peered hopfully at the door. "Why can't we all be friends!"

There was a squeak and some shuffles, followed by a short silence and a jumble of Irken-English jibberish, before the door finally opened. Zim stood stiff, his eyes slightly, to Gir's confusion, puffy.

"Buiyen, Invaders aren't meant to have friends." Zim picked Gir up by his antenna and began to walk down the halls. "Especailly not me."

Gir looked up in shock. "But... but I thought..." The tears started pouring again as he tried to continue. "I thought you two LOVEDED each other!"

Zim's eyes flared and he glared long and hard at the little robot. "You know I don't feel LOVE! Only defec-..." He stopped, realizing he was speaking his own demise.

He always knew he'd been "different," but the thing that made him that way was never really known to him. A lot of things could make one a defect; faulty programing, natural borns, hormones and pheremones, chemicals that weren't supposed to be there, etc. But love? He never thought that emotions was what made him defective... even though that was most common.

The Irken hissed quietly, praying that he was wrong, that it was something else. But the more he thought about it the hotter his blood boiled, and he could feel the warmth rising in his cheeks as they turned red. His mind involuntarily wondered farther and farther...

He slid to the floor and held his face in his hands, trying to keep the images from coming, but he couldn't... she was just too beautiful. "Kya." he cursed, jerking his head to the right.

Gir wriggled from his grip and stood in front of him, knowing what the other was thinking. "She's still there." he said, holding his hand out.

Zim looked back over and looked at Gir's hand, hesitantly raising his own.

* * *

It had only been two hours, and Aneera had resulted in sprawling herself out onto the couch, daydreaming of "better times." It took her by surprise when the lift opened and the two emerged.

Her eyes narrowed and she stood to her feet, readying her planned rant on how ungreatful he was and the like. She was so ready to tell him off if he didn't hurry up and spit out his apology, but he didn't even pause in his stride.

He swiftly glided across the floor in mere seconds and was before the girl before she could even tell his was moving at all. Reaching out both hands he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her tightly against his chest, careful to be gentle.

Aneera dropped her arms to her sides and her eyes went wide, trying to figure out why exactly his behavior had changed so suddenly. She remembered threatening him to be nice, but he should know that hugging wasn't nessicary. She wouldn't have minded it so much either, except something about it was making her senses foggy and numb. At first she thought her headache was coming back, but it was far too overwhelming; she could smell it, she could taste it, she could almost _feel_ it. Every time she inhaled she sucked in deeper, finding out that it was Zim.

He smelled intoxicating.

Without a second thought her hands raised up to his back and clutched at his uniform, slightly quivering. She stood up straighter and leaned into him, nuzzling his collar bone until his pulled away and held her at arms length.

"I..." he tried, desperately searching for words that he didn't have. He knew he should have already thought of something to say. "I'm... sorry." His head hung forward, antennae drooping.

At first Aneera thought he was apologizing for the hug, but when he lifted his head to look at her she could almost hear his very thoughts.

"I feel... horrible for what I did. I shouldn't have hurt you like that... and I know the hospital thing wasn't your fault..." He let his arms fall from her shoulders, his hands clenching into fists. "I didn't mean anything I said about you earlier when I was talking to the Tallest... it just sort of came out and I-!"

Aneera gently put a finger to his lips, taking a step forward. Her "heart beat" began to quicken when she saw his eyes gloss over with tears, knowing that he wanted to but couldn't.

Zim suddenly lurched forward as his entire body convulsed, his arms crossing over his stomach weakly, shaking with fear. He could feel Aneera move closer as he dropped to his knees, the tears abruptly poured from his eyes. He let out a small whimper and tried to squeeze them shut to stop his sobbing. But the harder he tried the louder he cried, hoplessly failing until he was screaming.

The scene was scaring Aneera as she was practically forced to watch him break down at her feet, his violent sobs wracking his fragile body. She sat down in front of him and stared, holding her antennae as his harsh screeches of pain echoed about the room.

The house was silent and still except for Zim, who wailed and cried until his throat was screaming at him to stop, his head throbbing so thunderously it numbed his entire body. For quite a while he sat on the floor and let every last bit of negative emotion he ever had pour from his eyes, feeling as though he was letting go of his very soul as his body writhed continuously.

Eventually his shrill screams died down to quiet whimpers and rasps as his throat felt as though it had been ripped apart like the rest of his body. His frequent convulses turned to slight trembles and he allowed himself to slowly relax, leaning forward and sinking into Aneera's awaiting arms.

She gently picked him up and carried him to the couch where she sat down, letting him curl up against her belly, his head resting on her chest. She softly hushed him until he stopped sniveling, running her fingers along the length of his antennae, smiling as he instantly calmed and went still.

Zim inhaled one last shaky breath before completely letting himself succumb to sleep.

* * *

Aneera: ... Well...

Author: I know that the end of this chapter was a little discomforting, but I really want you guys fully grasp the fact that he wasn't just sobbing... it was _**violent**_. If you've ever seen anyone _scream_ when they cry it's scary. Every time I played this out in my head it would make me sick, thats how bad its supposed to be.

Zim: We don't cry though.

Author: You just did.

Zim: ...


	7. Blue Roses: Chapter Six

When Zim woke it was dark outside, the moon lit up to look like an evil grin. He slowly lifted his head, trying to fight back his impending yawn. After he realized he was only hurting himself he opened his mouth and pulled the corners of his lips past his pointed teeth. As it passed he pushed himself upright, being careful not to wake the girl beneath him.

Once he was on his feet and he checked to make sure that Aneera was still sleeping, he made his way to the lift, letting it carry him to the lower levels where his experimental labs were. On his way down he made a mental note that they only had three hours before school, which he could already feel was going to be hell.

The small platform slowed to a stop, letting him out on the experimental wing of the base. Zim didn't particularly need to finish up anything important, but keeping his mind busy, and away from the female, was something he was sure he needed. And there were plenty of simple things he could muse over since he didn't feel quite "on top of the world" at the moment.

He purpousfully took his time, walking half as quickly as he normally would and making sure his step was heel then toe. He even stopped every so often to peer into the different rooms, trying to remember what exactly was going on with the different experiments. Most of them were petty and he usually forgot their purpose, but others, that were large and complex, simply didn't seem fiesable to him anymore and he had lost interest.

Once he came to the end of the hall his eye caught the glint from a room to his left, which appeared to be something chrome, but he couldn't make out what it was since the glass was textured and cracked. He decided that since his interest had been piqued he may as well roll with it.

He opened the door and took in the sight, the corners of his mouth tugging into a smirk. Of all the unfinished projects, this was his favorite, one that he told himself would eventually be completed. He walked over to it, running his finger around the rim.

It was small and seemingly useless to anyone who happened to glance at it, easily fitting into the plam of one's hand. It was fully metalic, perfectly reflecting the enitre room on its surface.

Zim smiled down at the small device, still not sure as to what he wanted it to do. He'd had it for so long it seemed like it was meant to be useless and trivial by then.

He sat down quietly and began to play around with it, keeping his mind busy until it was time to leave. The next time he looked at the clock he sighed, annoyed that he had let himself lose track of time. He put away his things and set the small object back on the table, watching it as he left the room.

Once he was back at the house level his eyes involuntarily flew to the girl, who was still sound asleep. He had half a mind to let her sleep and just leave her a note saying that she could stay home if she wanted, but he thought the other kids would find it suspicious, so he didn't. Instead he quietly walked over to the couch and looked down, resisting the urge to stand and stare. He lifted a hand and poked the side of her face, repeating this until her eyes fluttered open.

"It's time to get up, we have school." Once that was said Zim took a seat at the other end of the couch while she left to get ready. She wasn't gone long enough for Zim's mind to wonder too far, but giving him plenty of time for him to ponder over his "feelings" towards her.

The fact that she even gave him attention seemed astounding to him, let alone the fact that it was positive attention. He knew he respected her, she was the Tallests' personal guard, but he also knew there was something else he felt. And he was aware of what love was, but because he'd never experienced it he didn't know what it felt like. He told himself that might be a possibility, small, but still a possibility, though he hoped he was wrong.

The front door opened and Zim pulled his thoughts back in order, seeing Aneera standing in front of it while motioning for him to get a move on. She watched him slide off the couch and walk through the door, continuing down the street with or without her.

Aneera swiftly caught up and matched his pace, watching her feet as they walked. Once the silence grew uncomfortable she looked up at him, noting his scowl. "Do you feel better?"

Zim glanced in her direction, knowing what she was referring to, and glared back at the ground. "Don't talk about it."

After that the walk to school was silent, neither feeling compelled to say any more. As the school building continued to get closer Aneera could feel herslef slowing down, not wanting to face Torque again. She could see him sitting on the steps, his posse laughing and praising him for the day before.

Zim could hear them too, and it was sickening what they were saying about her. He turned to look at her and watched her face carefully as it twisted into pain and hatred. He hooked his pinky around hers and pulled her forward to keep her pace up, heading straight for the large child.

They crossed the front yard and silently came to the steps, never making eye contact with any in the group. However, they only got to the third step before Torque was in their way, looming over them with his creeps at his sides.

"Well looky here, she's back already? I thought I did better than that." Torque mocked a sad face, earaning approving snickers and laughs from the others.

Zim narrowed his eyes and glared in front of him. "Move it pudgey."

Torque's face reddened and he grabbed the front of Zim's shirt. "You really want to pick a fight with me again, shorty!" He jabbed a finger at Zim and glared evily.

"Doesn't really matter, you're face will still look just as ugly." He leaned his head forward and bit his finger, feeling the bigger teen drop him to the ground. He tured to the girl and told her to back up since she couldn't get inside.

"Oh you're one to talk. You're green!" He started to walk forward, backing Zim and Aneera down the steps and onto the grass. "Besides, I'll be ready for you this time."

Zim scoffed and waved him off. "It's too bad you don't know what I can really do, otherwise you'd run now to try and save that pathetic little thing you call a life." He pulled off his gloves and handed them to girl behind him, once again telling her to keep her distance.

"Aww, how cute, he's gonna protect his litte girlfr-!" Torque stopped mid-sentence from the sneer Zim gave him, instantly smirking. "Oh come now, you don't have to hide your feelings, especially when you make it so obvious."

The goons in the background laughed and snorted as they put their hands on their hips. One leaned over to peer around Torque, smiling mockingly at the litte Invader. "You know after you get over the freaky green skin he's kinda cute-!"

Zim threw himself at the lanky child, screaming about how he wasn't to be labled as 'cute'. Once he gave the kid a good scratch across the face, nearly blinding him in his right eye, he shoved him to the ground and stood up, shaking the human germs from his hands.

Torque looked back behind him and surveyed the damage done to his follower. "Not bad..." He looked back at Zim and smirked, folding his arms over his chest. "Still mad about the choking?"

"You're lucky I didn't kill you." Zim yanked down his sleeves and looked away from the human, huffing with irritation. When he was done he took his gloves back and slipped them on, heading towards the front of the building with Aneera at his heels.

"Hey!" Torque turned on his heel and started after them, frustrated. "You can't just walk away from me! We aren't done!" He stopped short when the girl spun around and galred, her eyes no longer the inviting magenta red color. Her black eyes stared coldly at him, her wings and tail flicked out for a brief moment while she hissed at him, curling her lips back to reveal her sharp teeth.

Torque took a step back and returned a fearful stare, looking around to see if anyone else saw. "DEMON!" He shrieked, turning around to run back home.

Aneera quickly returned to her "nomral" state of being and smiled happily, taking her place by Zim's side. "I think I just solved your problem."

"Pffft, you didn't even do anything."

She smiled wider. "Exactly, I didn't _have_ to." With that she skipped up the stairs and pulled open the door, looking back expectantly. "Are you coming or what?"

Zim looked unamused as he stomped up the stairs and passed her. "You don't have to rub it in you know." As he entered the hall he brushed himslef off and surveyed the area.

The lower classmen congregated like masses in halls and around some doorways, waiting axiously for their teacher. They worried Zim the most, mostly because they were younger and more irritating than the "Hi Skool" students he knew. Those kids mostly kept to themselves within smaller groups, and not to mention their cliques, which Zim never could understand, it all seemed pointless anyways.

After ignoring the many cold stares and confused glances he led the female down the hall, swiftly weaving around the clumps of humans. Just as they reached Ms. Bitters' door the bell rung through the halls, creating a stampede of all sorts of children. Zim backed up against the wall and sneaked inside with Aneera, both taking their respective seats in silence.

Once the rest of the students had filed in Ms. Bitters made her appearence, seeming darker than usual and in much more of a bad mood. As she sat behind her desk the cries for help squeaked out of the old wooden chair, grating on both ears and antennae alike.

"Students, today will be-"

"I'M NOT TECHNICALLY LATE THIS TIME!" Dib practically fell face first into the room as he screamed his statement, looking hopefully up at Ms. Bitters. Once he realized that she wasn't going to say anything Dib quietly made his way to his seat, looking around the room. After he had asessed who was absent he found Zim and the girl... who was already out of the hospital?

"As I was saying, today will be-" She hissed evily as her head snapped towards Dib's raised hand. "WHAT!"

Dib shrunk a little and lowerd his offened appendage. "Um, I just noticed that um... the new girl is back already," He sat back up and directed the question portion towards her. "What exactly happened yesterday?"

Aneera spun around and glowered at him, digging her claws into the back of her seat. Once she had had her fill of glaring she turned back around and sat rigidly in place.

Ms. Bitters looked unamused. "She was rushed to the hospital and is now back at skool."

"But isn't it strange that with an injury as serious as hers she'd get out of the hospital so early? No _human_ could heal that fast!" Dib threw his arms up and looked like an idiot.

The girl once again spun in her seat, hissing slightly at the fact that he didn't know how to drop a subject. "Is this really any of your business? I was the victim of a physical assault, then was rushed to the hospital, then I went home and now I'm here, end of story!" As Dib opened his mouth to protest she cut him of. "**NO!**" Dib instantly closed his mouth and remained quiet for the rest of the class.

Having had enough of the outbursts, Ms. Bitters decided that if she was interrupted one last time she'd send the hopeless little worm to the underground classrooms. "Today will be your chance to bring up your horrible 'F's. Today we'll have a pop quiz on life."

Hushed whispers and aggitated groans fell from the students' lips, all wondering when they had gone over _that_ in class. Oh right, they didn't.

Ms. Bitters then stood up and glared at the kids. "I'll only ask one question. If you get it wrong you fail!" She then straightened herself and looked over the class. "What is the answer to everything?"

"42."

Every eye in the room darted towards whoever could come up with such a quick answer. Eventually everyone was staring at Aneera as she sat smugly in her seat.

Ms. Bitters leaned over her desk and snarled. "You weren't supposed to know the answer! You're supposed to be dumb like the rest of them!"

The evil teacher then hissed at her and sat back down. "The rest of the class FAILS for the rest of the year!" She smiled on the inside as the rest of the kids, save for Zim and Dib, groaned and banged their heads against their desks in failure.

Zim looked over towards Aneera and scowled, whispering to her. "How did you know the answer?"

She only smiled back and replied, "TV."

* * *

The mob of children that flooded into the hall stampeded into the cafeteria, screaming and pushing over anything that got into their way, including teachers. As they diminished and the straglers brought up the rear, Zim stepped out of the classroom and followed suit.

"Hey," Aneera skidded around the door and met up with the other. "Have any idea what's for lunch?"

Zim snickered, knowing it couldn't be something good. "Not food."

Aneera paused and thought to herself. "Well what do they normally serve? They have to have _something_."

"Yeah, but you never know what it is. One time I did a chemical scan and it turned out to be melted rubber and oil mixed with vanilla." He shuddered, remembering how well _that_ went.

"Then I guess it's a good thing I just lost my apetite." She held a hand over her stomach and grimaced, knowing she'd eat like a pig later.

They walked in silence, keeping a slow pace so that the cafateria madness would be minimal when they got there. The screams and laughs could be heard from across the school, echoing through the halls and into the rooms.

As they pushed the doors open to the large mess hall Dib called to them from a few yards back.

"Hey!" he called, running to catch up. "I've got a few questions."

Zim rolled his eyes and continued deeper into the cafeteria, where he sat at his table on the far end of the room. Aneera quietly took her seat next him and watched Dib as he approached.

"Shouldn't you still be in the hospital?" he questioned, slamming his hands on the table in front of the two. "Or do you have some sort of excellerated healing process that I should know about!" Dib leaned in closer and stared continuously.

With a wave of the hand Zim shooed him to go away, saying, "You won't get anything out of either of us, and we having nothing that you'll ever need to know about."

"So please stop being a creeper." Aneera added, laying her head on the table to hid him from her view.

Dib scowled and turned to walk away, knowing he'd have to find his sister eventually. "Fine, I'll just find out on my own." He strutted away confidently, having one of those moments that gave the rest of the student body reason to label him as 'gay'.

The rest of the day flew by just as quickly as it did smoothly, causing no more problems for either of the Irkens, and when school let out they didn't recieve anymore than a passing glare from Dib as they walked home.

When the two reached the door Aneera pushed it open and stepped in, noting how quiet it was. After Zim closed the door she turned to lookat him and quirked a brow. "Isn't Gir usually up here in the living room?"

Zim nodded and stepped around her, quickly growing suspicious of the little robot. "Gir?" he called, trying to see if he could coax the S.I.R. out of 'hiding'. When he didn't get an answer he was about to interrogate the computer when he felt a hand grab his arm as it spun him around.

"Good, then we have a moment to talk." Aneera let go of him and crossed her arms. "Now tell me what happened last night, and tell me the truth."

"Why should I?" Zim scoffed, turning to leave for his labs. "I acted like a coward anyways," he mumbled, hoping that she woudn't hear.

Aneera scowled and yanked him back around. "How is that being a coward?"

Zim narrowed his eyes and glared right back at her. "Because I showed my feelings!"

"So? That's natural! You're _supposed_ to do that!" she said, her voice rising as she grew more and more irritated with his reasoning.

"No I'm not!" Zim took a step forward and attempted to star her down, failing almost instantly. "We're Irkens, we have no feelings! And even if we did we aren't supposed to show them! It's cowardly!"

"No," Aneera began, her temper still rising. "Bottling up your emotions is cowardly! Showing no feeling at all is cowardly!" Suddenly she softened her eyes and looked at him hopefully. "But showing how you feel is bravery, and who cares what others think?"

Zim stood very still, trying to understand all of what she had told him. Her reasonings for things were so backwards from what he knew, yet, he liked them better.

She took a small step forward and asked him again, but gently. "Now tell me what happened, why were you so upset?"

It took a minute for he could gather up his answer and present it calmly. "I felt bad for the way I had acted... But I didn't know I felt _that_ bad." He looked down and hid his face from Aneera, feeling the blood slowly pour into his cheecks.

"Does it have something to do with why you've been acting so weird?" Aneera leaned forward slightly, hoping to coax an answer from him, but he remained silent and rigid. "Zim?"

With a sudden burst of effort his explanation poured from his lips so quickly Aneera had a hard time getting it all. "I know I've been acting weird, and I don't know why but I think it started when you got here, but I don't know for sure. And I can't concentrate on anything for more than five minutes, I feel restless constatnly, my head hurts a lot and I pace around for hours in the labs without getting any work done. I've had a ten minute memory for the past three days, my squeedilyspooch feel sick and I get nervous and every time I look at you I want..." He stopped, not knowing if he could bring himself to say it. "I want to..."

Aneera, who was still shocked by the magnitude of his strange behavior, continued to look at him and listen, hoping he'd spit out whatever he still had left to say.

However, Zim had decided that words wouldn't be able to explain how he felt and he was already tired from talking, so, on a whilm, he acted on it instead. As quickly as he could he pulled the girl tightly against him just as he had the night before, planting a very haphazard and rough kiss on her lips. For a good ten seconds neither of them moved, Aneera too entirely overwhelmed and Zim not quite ready to end the moment, but when he finally did pull away he did very fast, his hands automatically covering his mouth as though he knew he had either done something wrong or upset her.

Zim pivoted and took off down the hall, disappearing around the corner just as the lift door opened. He slamed himself against the back wall of the lift, panting furously as he slid to the floor. His fingers ran through his hair as his eyes widened, a feeling of unease settled in his queedilyspooch. "What have I done?" he whispered to himself, clenching his jaw shut.

As the lift decended lower into the labs his feeling of embarrassment began to slip away, which was then replaced with his usual anger and irritation. "Stupid female... with her stupid hormones... making Zim feel... _feelings_." When the doors opened he pushed himself from the floor and marched out of the lift, heading down the hall with longer strides and is head kept low. As he rounded the corner he stopped and growled, pulling his fist back and smashing it into the closest wall, letting out a loud cry.

He never particularly had the best ways to control his anger, and he certainly had no idea how to let it out without hurting someone. Picking a fight with a fellow academy student was his usual outlet for his anger, which almost always put him in the dean's office. But he currently had no one to punch in the face, and her certainly didn't feel like walking all the way to Dib's house just to ruff the boy up a little.

He looked over to the wall where his fist had landed, snorting hotly as he knew he'd have to buff out the dent later. He continued forward, shoving his hands into his pockets, hoping to leave the rest of his walls smooth and clean. As he passed by his weapons storage facility he stopped, lifting his head to quickly scan the interrior. He took a step into the room and looked closer, his eyes landing on the perfect outlet.

Aneera had sat on the couch quietly for three hours, glancing up at the clock nearly every fifteen minutes. For a while she couldn't quite figure out if she was dreaming or not, it took four smacks to the face and beating from Gir's frying pan to convince her that you couldn't feel pain like _that_ when you were sleep.

Gir had sat around in the kitchen with a bowl of jello, entertainging Minimoose with various "tricks" for eating said jello. Most of it ended up on the walls and in the toaster, a small piece or two even made it into the living room. After the bowl was emptied and Gir had successfully figured out how to make another batch, he took a seat next to the girl while he waited. "Hi Pretty Lady!"

The girl winced and smiled, patting the little robot on the head. "Hir, Gir." she replied, her frown then returning.

"Why is you all sad?" Gir tilted his head to the side and looked up at her, leaning forward so her could see her face.

At first she didn't say anything back. "I'm not... sad really... just thinking."

"Thinkin' 'bout what?"

She sighed sat up, leaning back so she could slouch and scowl. "Why Zim's acting like an idiot." She looked over to Gir and smiled. "I think he's bipolar."

Gir's hands shot to his mouth and he squealed. "BIPOLAR! What does it _mean_!"

Aneera laughed at him, knwoing that the robot had no idea what she was referring to. "If someone is bipolar it means that their mood is constantly changing for no reason. Like how eralier he was acting seriously nervous and then he was angry. Sometimes I wonder how you put up with him."

With a total serious expression Gir brought a hand to his chin while he pondered the statement. Then his eyes lit up and a grin spread across his face. "Because Master is nice! He lets me help out with all his plans and he even lets me drive his spaceship...!"

"Tch, I wish he was that nice to me." Aneera glared and crossed her arms, trying to blow a nonexistant strand of hiar out of her face, a habit she had fallen into when she was living the human lifestyle.

"He is nice to you!"

"Really? When did _that_ happen?"

"He made kissy faces at you today! That was nice!" He leaned over and poked Aneera on the face.

She swiped his hand away and glared at him. "That's not being nice! That's him being confused and pointlessly reaching out for attention."

"Well you wanted him to talk about his feelings..."

"Yeah, but that wasn't talking! That was-!" she made awkward hand motions in the air to try and describe his actions.

Gir sat and watched her try to make sense. "He likes you." he said, not understanding her odd hand movements.

Aneera stopped and put her hands down, slowing turning to look at the robot again. "Define 'like'."

"People don't make kissy faces unless they like each other." Gir pointed out matter-of-factly.

She opened her mouth to make another excuse, but closed it again, knowing that lying to herself wasn't going to help anything. "He doesn't act like it very often."

"Maybe he doesn't know how. Or maybe he doesn't know if you likes him back too."

Aneera raised a brow and stared at Gir long and hard. "How much TV do you _watch_! And why do you watch soaps?"

Gir's hands flew back to his mouth, his eyes lighting back up. "Because I has to know why Jason lefted Mary for dumb old Susie! 'Cause Susie is married and her man doesn't even knows about Jason and Mary hates Susie but they useded to be bestest friends! WHY AREN'T THEY FRIENDS ANYMORE!"

"Um... anyways..." she said, trying to steer him away from fangirling about his soap.

"You should go talk to him! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO LOVE EACH OTHER!" He screamed, flailing his arms about wildly.

Her face dropped as she slowly grew more and more irriated. "We don't have to."

Gir stared at her blankly. "But you do."

Aneera huffed and looked away again. "You don't know that."

"You didn't pull away." Gir stated, effectively proving his point.

"What do you mean...?" Aneera asked, not liking where he was going with this.

Gir sat up straighter and crossed his arms. "When Master was makin' kissy faces at you's today. If you don'ts like him then why didn't you's pull away?"

"Because-"

"You loves Master!" the robot screeched, almost in a way that dared her to prove him wrong. "Don'ts lie."

The girl groaned and rolled over into a pillow. "Well it's not like he cares! One minute he thinks he likes me, the next minute we're punching each other's faces! Last time I checked that's not what love is."

"Well," Gir started. "maybe you and Master should talks about it. 'Cause whenever people that loves each other fight they _always_ makes up."

Aneera peeked at him from her pillow. "I doubt he wants to talk about anything. I tried that already and when we do, the next time I say anything about it he gets all defensive and gives me the cold shoulder."

"Talk about it."

"Why?"

"Talk about it."

"It won't help!"

"TALK ABOUT IT."

"But-"

"I SAIDS TO TALKS ABOUT IT!" Gir's left eye twitched violently as he stared at her. "You don'ts know until you's try."

Aneera sat up and looked at him skeptically. "Since when have you been so pushy?"

Gir jabbed his finger at the hall where the lift was, his eyes flashing red. "Now."

"Okay okay! I'm going." Aneera stood up and looked over her shoulder as she walked into the lift, hoping the robot wouldn't go insane and start making another intellectual speech.

Once the door was closed and she was lowered into the base, Aneera shuffled her feet and began rocking back and forth anxiously. She really didn't feel like confronting him directly, but it had been made obvious that he didn't get sublte notions.

The lift seemed to go much faster than usual, and Aneera was only dreading the minute she found him. It took less than a minute before the doors opened and she forced herself to step out, instantly feeling sick as a rush of anger hit her sences. She reached up and covered the tips of her antennae, hoping to stop the nausia before the red walls got painted the opposite color.

"This is rediculous... he's not going to tell me anything." she said, knowing it was only to talk herself out of it.

After listening to the sounds of her boots clack against the floor for five minutes, which nearly drove her to insanity, she was almost greatful when a loud, angry snarl burst down the hall. By now Aneera had gotten used to the churning in her stomach, so she picked up the pace to a normal walking speed.

The double doors at the end of the hall were matted, so she couldn't see through, but one had been carelessly left ajar, which let the full extent of the yells of distress bounce around the hallways.

Aneera quietly backed against the door that was closed and listened. "Figures he'd rant to himself." she whispered, slowly peering around to look inside.

The walls were made of large metal plates, which formed a dome shaped room. The floor was open and had sets of rings around the middle. A table was set up towards the back, which was littered with shiny pieces of metal, and small purple moose was hanging around a scoreboard.

"Whhaaaattt...?" Aneera drawled, not understanding anything that was going on. Zim then appeared in her line of vision and hurled something towards the center of the room, screaming something in a language she didn't understand.

Minimoose squeaked and added another point, obviously trying to keep a possitive atmosphere.

Unaware that he was being watched, Zim continued to pace around and talk to himself, often emphasizing certain words by yelling them and absent mindedly throwing another shiny thing in some random direction.

"I can't even _BELIEVE_... of all the _STUPID_ and _REDICULOUS_... couldn't mind her own business..." He went on, periodically throwing and cursing, but paying no attention to the purple moose that was trying desperately to lift his spirits.

Aneera inched closer, and watched carefully. "Are those..." she shut her mouth and fell to the floor, covering her head as one went flying in her direction. When she was sure it went unnoticed she looked up, yanking it out of the wall. "Ninja stars... of course." She stood up and marched into the room, ready to give him a piece of her mind. "Hey! Watch where you throw these things why don't cha!"

Zim turned around and glared, ready to throw another on one at her if she didn't watch her mouth. "Then why don't you stay out of my way for once!" He threw another at what Aneera could see to be a floating dart board.

"I'm not trying to be in your way! Do you honestly think I asked to be here?" She slammed the star back onto the table to get Zim's attention. "I don't like this anymore than you do!"

"Then why are you _constantly_ on my case about something! I haven't had a moment of peace since you got here!" Zim had set down the rest of the stars and began to furiously walk in her direction.

Aneera crossed her arms and scowled while she leaned against the table. "Don't try to blame all of this on me and act like you hate me."

"I DO HATE YOU!"

"You're lying," Aneera glared harder. "I can smell it."

Zim huffed and stood up straight, putting his hands on his hips. "Then tell me how I feel!"

"You already know, you're just too stubborn to admit it."

"Admit what!"

Aneera jabbed a finger into his shoulder and hissed. "Tell me what happened earlier."

With one quick movement Zim grabbed her hand and pulled her to eye-level. "No." He then shoved her away and stormed past her, nearly making it to the door.

"Coward."

He spun around and sneered at her, balling his hands into fists. "Don't you dare-!"

"Then don't act like one!" She walked up to him and stoped a half inch from his face, then slammed the door shut behind him. "Now tell me what happened, and don't even think about lying to me because you aren't leaving until I get the truth."

Zim looked at her long and hard, narrowing his eyes. "I don't know."

"Yes you do."

"NO I DON'T!" He relaxed slightly when she backed up. "I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to! I don't know what's going on, I don't know why I've been acting like this, I don't know why it happened!" He fell against the door and slouched, hanging his head so she couldn't see him. "I'm not human, and I don't know the difference between emotions because I've never felt any of them."

Aneera dropped her shoulders and smiled to herself, happy that she finally was able to get him to talk. "Now why was that so hard?" she said softly while she approached him.

He didn't look up when he answered. "Because I didn't know what to do... I don't know how I'm supposed to... _deal_ with it... I don't even really know what it _is_!"

"I thought it was lo-"

"Don't... say it..." He looked off to the side as his cheecks turned hot.

With a smile, Aneera stepped forward and gently pulled him up into a hug. She was careful at first, knowing he'd instinctively want to pull away, but when he relaxed she pulled him closer and buried her head into his shoulder.

After a moment, Zim was able to summon enough will and hug her back, wrapping one arm around her back and the other around her shoulders. "I'm... sorry I've been so difficult... I've never been able to trust anyone like this... especially not anyone that would actually understand."

Aneera smiled wider against his uniform, then lifted her head so she could speak. "I know that when you're around others you can't say anything... but you don't have to pretend for me."

Zim's face grew warmer and he held her tighter. "Thank you." He waited another moment until he could feel her pull away, then brought his hands up to her face and kept her still. The two looked at each other for a moment, Aneera brough her hands up to hold his wrists and closed her eyes so she wouldn't make him feel uncomfortable.

It was then that he got the idea of repeating what he'd done earlier, only better and less painful. Once he made up his mind about how he was going to do it (almost glad that he'd been stuck watching Gir's soaps about a month ago because the cable got shut off) and heasitantly leaned forward, but stopped just as their lips brushed against each other.

For a moment Aneera thought he was doing it on purpose, but when she opened her eyes she saw that he'd gotten nervous and froze. If he wasn't so bipolar about everything she would have finished it herself, but she was afraid that he'd go into another tangent about how 'wrong' it was.

Zim suddenly pulled away and let go of her face. "I... I didn't-"

"You don't have to, I understand." she replied, sliding her hands into his. Before she was able to say more she was pulled into another genlte embrace.

"NYA!"

Aneera spun around and held her hands up defensively. "WHY IS THERE A MOOSE!"

"Nya..." Minimoose squeaked offendedly and pouted.

Aneera lowered her hands and stared at it. "And why is it purple and adorable?"

Zim grabbed Minimoose by an antler and dragged him out of the room. "He's supposed to keeping Gir busy."

"Your robot watches soap operas! I hope you know that." Aneera declaired, jogging after them to keep up. "And he yelled at me to come down here to talk to you."

"Wouldn't be the first time." Zim snickered and continued down the hall.

With a horridly confused squeak, the girl ran after him. "The first time for what! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!"

* * *

Author: I made a ref in here to a movie that's made of pure awesome. Cookies to anyone who gets it!

Zim: IT'S-!

Aneera: *smacks in face with paddle* No.

Author: No ideas, no theories, no _nothing_.

Aneera: Don't make it obvious!

Author: You hit him with a paddle.


End file.
